


Haikyuu!! Superhero AU: Rise of Heroes

by LilweenGalatrass



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Eventual Romance, Friendship, Gen, Minor Characters Death, Multi, Sci-Fi, So much friendship and so little romance what is happening to me, Superpowers, Teamwork, i'll add more tags as i go on, i'll try to include as many characters as physically possible, more friendship, some relationships will be with OC to flesh out the characters and story, superhero au, the only ships will be the ones that had been hinted in the manga, the romance and ships will be low-key so everyone can be happy with it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 00:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 133,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilweenGalatrass/pseuds/LilweenGalatrass
Summary: After the fall of a meteor on Earth, superpowers start to appear. Despite the army trying to cover it all up and chasing down all suspicious people, the danger becomes real with the appearance of supervillains. Bokuto Koutarou, with the help of his friends, rise to the challenge and becomes a superhero. Things become even more delicate when citizens start disappearing without any evidence ever left.The army, the police, journalists and a detective all try to find the identity of that mysterious hero and his sidekick who are bringing new hope to society,becoming the pillar they thoroughly need.Several plotlines that will intertwine and play out together in the end.





	1. Prologue

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU: RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER I : Prologue

" _I have no idea where I'm going to be tomorrow. But I accept the fact that tomorrow will come. And I'm going to rise to meet it."_

―  **Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Titans/Young Justice: Graduation** **Day Vol. 1**

A flash of light shot across the sky, illuminating the night brighter than any star or moon. The people who weren't sleeping looked up, blinded by the sudden, unexpected light. They watched what they believed was a meteor, but suddenly, it split into several rays of lights that went in different directions.

Animals started barking, growling, hissing, attacking their cages. Bokuto Koutarou, who was a zookeeper working in the Ueno Zoo of Tokyo, watched as all the animals he was guarding that night suddenly started reacting strangely. All animals were either trying to get out of their cages or hiding. He put down the listing of food he was checking and went out to check on the animals. His co-workers were as confused by the animals' panicked reactions. He looked up, seeing the rays of light, and one of them coloured in white, blue and purple was particularly close to Japan.

"Wow…" He murmured, in awe at the beauty of it – but his heart was beating hard in his chest, aware that as magnificent as it was, the danger was very real and getting closer.

In the main part of the city, most people were too busy looking at their phones to look up.

"Mommy, what is it?" A little boy asked, pointing at the sky.

She drew him closer to her as vain protection, but his question resonating with innocence and curiosity made the few people who hadn't noticed yet look up. Two young men, one with long black and yellow hair, and the other with a stunning bed-head, Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsurou, looked up, blinking in astonishment as they saw the different rays of light.

"What's that? A meteor?" Kenma asked.

"Meteors don't do that…" Kuroo answered.

Everyone watched as slowly, the rays of light ran across the sky – and one was getting bigger and closer to the city of Tokyo.

In other parts of the city, the same sight was viewed by many people. Workers in an office, people who had stopped their motors or cars to watch what was happening, regular citizens in their homes watching from the window, and an impassive face that helplessly watched the world he knew come crumbling down as fast as the rays of light heading towards earth.

In Japan, near Tokyo, the meteor accelerated, on fire, leaving behind a trail of various colours as it got closer and closer to the ground. In the city and in most of the country, animals started barking and clawing at their homes, trying to get away even if there was no escape. The birds suddenly flew away from the forests, darkening the sky. When the object from outer space landed, there was silence at first – followed by a violent wave of destruction. Trees were ripped from their roots, the ground was turned upside down, rocks were shred apart and for several kilometres around the landing place, the sheer shock of the meteor turned the landscape into a war zone. The wave shock was so intense that it travelled all the way to the neighbouring cities and the capital, breaking the windows and making the walls vibrate. Everyone stopped or woke up, feeling that vibration. The people of Japan were used to earthquakes – but somehow, they could tell in the way their stomachs twisted that it wasn't natural.

Luckily, in Japan, even if it landed near Tokyo, the meteor landed in the forest, without anyone living nearby. But it wasn't the only one, in many other countries, the different bits of that 'meteor' landed at various times. Thankfully, they mostly landed in the sea or inhabited zones but the few that landed in urban areas provoked terrible destruction.

Everyone woke up and lived the following day in shock, not realizing what had happened. They kept their attention on the tv, looking at the world news, their phones griped in their hands in hope to hear about their families and friends.

" _We estimate the victims of the areas of New York, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Beijin and Mombay who were the most violently hit by these meteors to go up to five-hundred and sixty thousand dead or missing people and fives times the number of injured peoples._ _Many victims were unable to receive medical attention in time_ _and are currently between life and death."_  The reporter of Tokyo's main news channels said with a dark face, " _The destroyed infrastructures are yet to be fully looked through and all help is–"_

She suddenly frowned, putting her hand against her ear as she listened to what she was being told.

" _The head of the NASA and the Secretary-General of the United Nations are about to make a declaration!"_ She announced just as the screen changed to some official meeting with various military personnel and scientists lined up.

" _The number of victims is frightening,"_ started the Secretary-General of the United Nations, _"but we are doing everything we can in order to help the touched locations and help as many people as possible. I am asking everyone to remain calm so the help can be given to those in immediate need as fast as possible. Helping each other is our first priority on this dark day."_

" _Any explanations on what happened?"_  A journalist asked vividly.

" _We are still looking into it."_

" _Are you saying that you can't even give answers to the families of the victims? To the whole_ _ **world**_ _?"_ Another one continued accusingly.

" _We want to be honest and give you all the answers, which is why we are taking the time to thoroughly investigate."_

" _What was it that hit the earth last night? A meteor? Some even suggest aliens are behind this?"_

Some chuckles from the scientists and the head of the NASA leaned forward:

" _The only answer we can give right now is that it was very human and not from outer space. A space station test went wrong and lead to the disastrous result that we are seeing today."_

" _Then this is_ _ **your**_ _fault?"_

" _We will hold responsibility and pay all damage to the victims and their families."_

" _Should we fear any consequences for the civilians who survived?"_

" _This is all for the moment,"_  the general said.

And despite the flow of questions that didn't stop, the entire line of military personnel and scientists stood up to leave.

"This is so messed up," Kuroo said as he turned off the tv.

"It sounds like a cover-up story," Kenma said with a shrug.

"Of course it's a cover-up story!" His friend mumbled before turning to their other friend who had come to see them.

Bokuto Koutarou had spent most of the night at the zoo to ensure everything was fine with the animals and he still hadn't slept but he was still bouncing with energy – as usual from his dazzling personality.

"How are the animals doing? Did they freak out last night?" Kuroo asked.

"I've never seen them so agitated, I had to call for help because we weren't enough of us on the deck to handle all the animals." He answered with a frown, "We're mostly worried about our panda, she's expecting babies, y'know and stress isn't good."

"Right, first baby panda in a while in Japan. You guys are so proud." Kuroo continued, rolling his eyes.

"You sound as if you had made it yourself," Kenma snorted, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Hey! It  _is_  an exceptional event! We have to protect her and her baby! It's our duty!"

Just as he said that, his phone rang and he frowned at the message he had received.

"They need me back," he said with a pout.

Kuroo checked his phone as well and sighed, standing up:

"I'm being asked at the lab too. I should probably go now before Daichi gets mad."

Kenma followed their lead but only to go to the living-room and turn on his game players.

"I'm so glad our part of the city still has electricity," he said with a relieved sigh as he fell into the couch.

"Right, well, be careful! It might not be the case for long with this chaos!" Kuroo called as he and Bokuto left the apartment.

The people in the streets were either panicked or aghast, running around everywhere to go where they were needed.

Kuroo avoided being hit by a running woman by luck and he sighed, turning to his friend:

"Stay safe! Don't get bitten by a crazy lion or something!"

"You too!" Bokuto exclaimed and left before Kuroo could tell him that  _he_  wasn't dealing with wild beasts – he was dealing with humans, which was much worse.

Bokuto hurried to get to his car but almost fell over when he reached it, suddenly dizzy. His hand landed on the door as he tried to balance himself, blinking away the sudden numbness of his body. He might be more stressed and tired than he was assuming… Or maybe he had just caught a cold.

He shrugged it off, he could deal with it later. Right now, he was needed – at the zoo to help his co-workers and frankly, so many people needed help right now all around the world, he couldn't complain about a little cold.

As he entered the car, he didn't realise that on his car door, there was a mark left from where he had leaned: the imprint of his own hand, pushed in the metal as if he had pressed his hand into wet sand.


	2. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see what happened the night of the meteor from Oikawa's point of view, where he meets Major General Ushijima of the Japanese army.
> 
> Life goes on despite the start of disappearance of people - the Miyagi Police Station, and Kuroo's forensic science laboratory, is trying to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story will jump in time, between "the night of the meteor" and "X time later/current time" so we can every character's story to its fullest.

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU: RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER II : The Beginning of the End

" _The universe is so big, it has no center. WE are the center."_

―  _ **MS. MARVEL #18**_ **, by G. Willow Wilson, Francesco Gaston, Ian Herring, and Joe Caramagna**

_The night of the meteor…_

"Wait, Oikawa!"

Oikawa Tooru barely turned around as he hurriedly put on his shoes just as his best friend, Iwaizumi Hajime, arrived behind him.

"You can't just go chasing aliens like that! It might be dangerous with that meteor that fell down from the sky! What if there are still more parts of it that will land around the area?"

"Do you really think it's a meteor? Meteors don't act like that! They don't split up into parts to land all across the globe!"

"If you're going to say it's al–"

"It must be an alien!" He exclaimed without listening to his friend.

Iwaizumi was  _this close_  to strangling him when Oikawa stood up.

"I'm going!" He said, grabbing his car keys and his jacket.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Iwaizumi mumbled, hesitating to go with him.

"Hajime!"

He looked over his shoulder at the call and pouted. Oikawa smiled his usual, annoying smile – he seemed to be buzzing with energy at the idea of chasing aliens.

"Stay here with Kiku-chan! I'll be back soon! Unless the aliens kidnap me, of course!"

"That'd give me a break," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Rude!" Oikawa exclaimed, glaring at him before finally leaving.

As he quickly walked down the street, he noticed passersby who were excitedly pointing at the sky and talking about the event. The meteor hadn't landed yet – but it would soon, and close to Tokyo. He had to hurry. He climbed into his car and quickly drove across the city, going through the different neighbourhoods and following the meteor.

He reached the forest and trying to figure out where to go when the deafening sound of the meteor landing echoed. He barely had time to comprehend what had happened when the shockwave hit his car. He braked suddenly, his car sliding for a while, trembling. All his electronics turned on and off during the shockwave. He heard the distant sound of the Earth being ripped apart by a celestial object meeting it. It took his breath away.

There was a moment of intense silence as he watched the sky – the others continued their descent. He could only hear his heart thundering in his chest. It had been violent and luckily there weren't any habitation nearby. A column of smoke showed where the meteor had landed, it was much further than expected, and it would take some time to find a road over there.

Oikawa, trembling slightly, was about to start his engine, but then all his electronics flickered once again. He stopped breathing and stared as his phone, car, and everything went off for a moment. The car lights came back on after a little while and he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. He turned his phone back on just as he followed the road to try and find a way to the meteor site.

He had to go back a few times to try and get as close as possible to the area, and it didn't take long for helicopters to fly over his head. With a hand on the wheel, he took several pictures and videos with his phone and a camera he always had in his car. He sent the pictures to Iwa-chan then changed the memory card, hiding it under his seat, and switched it for another one.

But then, he heard a car driving behind him – a quick look in his mirror and he almost laughed. Military trucks were tying behind him, trying to get to the landing site. They ignored him and his car, going around him by going off road and continued on. What surprised Oikawa though was the civilian motorbike that was following from a few meters behind the series of half a dozen military trucks.

"Helicopters, military trucks, all ready to get there in record time for an  _unexpected_  event – what are you trying to hide?" He mumbled, accelerating a little to keep up with the trucks and motorbike.

Soon enough, Oikawa was stopped – the cars were all stopped and barriers had been put up, but the civilian motorbike was out of sight. He stopped and after a few very quick pictures taken, he hid his camera and phone just as an armed soldier came up to him.

"You're not supposed to be here, go away!" He said as Oikawa opened his window.

"Ah, sorry, sorry~! You see, I was just–"

"Go away! I won't repeat it a third time!" He exclaimed, making a rough gesture to indicate the other way of the road.

Oikawa tightened his lips, then he pulled out his wallet and id.

"I'm a detective and I'm authorized to go wherever I need. forest is open to everyone. Let me through." He said with his hard voice on and stern face.

The soldier frowned and grabbed the wallet to check the id, but he quickly made a nod with his chin.

"Out of the car, Sherlock," he grumbled.

Oikawa realised too late that even his activities as a detective weren't going to let him through. The moment he stepped off the car, he was checked and handled by another soldier who had approached. He took his phone and gave it to his colleague.

"Hey! You can't take that from me!" Oikawa exclaimed.

"We can, and we will. Civilians aren't allowed here. This is a dangerous crash site – it's your last warning, go away  _right now_."

The soldier went through his pictures and upon noticing several that had been taken of the military convoy, he kept the phone. Oikawa remained silent, lips thin and silently fuming.

"Do you have something to hide?" He asked innocently as he was playing good-natured boy and got his id back.

Before any of the soldiers could answer, another car arrived, the lights blinding them.

"Who's there?!" The soldier exclaimed.

A tall and imposing figure came out of the car and approached them. Upon recognizing him, especially the number of stars on his shoulder pads, the soldiers jumped into a salute.

"Major General Ushijima!"

_A major general showing up to a meteor crash site?_  Oikawa thought, raising an eyebrow as the man came into view.

He was tall, muscular and impressive with short-cut hair and a distant, disdainful expression on his face. He stopped by the soldiers, then gave a quick look at Oikawa and his car.

"Civilians are forbidden to enter the security perimeter of that crashing site. Please return to your home." He said, his voice as hard as rock.

"I don't see what there is to possibly hide if it's just a simple meteor," Oikawa said with a polite smile, putting on the face of someone who was just out for a walk and definitely not trying to investigate on the truth behind this 'meteor'.

This Ushijima major narrowed his eyes just as the soldier spoke up.

"He's a detective, sir! Working for the Aoba Jousai Detective Agency!"

Oikawa clicked his tongue in annoyance, his good-hearted mask dropping at once.

"He was taking pictures of the helicopters and trucks!"

He showed the phone he had taken as proof but the major didn't care enough to look.

"Get him away from here." He ordered without another look at the detective.

"Yes, sir!"

Ushijima walked past Oikawa, not bothering to walk around, bumping into him. Oikawa stared at him darkly just as the two soldiers were approaching him to force him to go away.

"You could at least put some effort into pretending you aren't hiding some big government secret!" Oikawa exclaimed before he was shoved back into his car.

Ushijima stopped, glancing over his shoulder very quickly – he had heard the detective, but didn't acknowledge him and continued on his way through the cars and to the crash site. Oikawa's id and memory card-less phone were thrown at him, the final gesture that told him to go away. He started the engine and turned around, being watched by the soldiers until he disappeared from their view.

Above his head, more helicopters came and Oikawa took more pictures with his camera – the idiots hadn't even bothered to look through his car which could mean two things: they were incompetent – and with a major general  _and_  the ferocity with which they protected the site, it was unlikely;  _or_  they didn't think that whatever proof he had would be valuable.

As soon as he arrived home, he uploaded all his pictures and proof, before starting to do some research.

_Ushijima Wakatoshi, major general of the Japanese army, what were you doing at that meteor crash site?_  He thought, his eyes shining from the light of the computer screen.

Oikawa gathered all of his evidence then ran to his best friend's apartment to share his excitement.

"Iwa-chan! Kiku-chan!" He called when he entered the apartment.

It was dark and he could hear the sound of tv from the living-room. He quickly took off his shoes and almost fell over in his hurry.

"You are never going to believe what I…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed that they were watching the news. He approached in silence, the words of the journalist somehow not making it to his ears. It sounded faraway, like background noise. All he could stare at was the way they kept repeatedly showing the meteors – or whatever it was – landing on the ground and tearing it apart… But they weren't showing the one near Tokyo that Tooru had investigated last night – it was the others that had fallen to the ground. He would have been excited about it – more proof, more investigating to process – if the meteors were blowing away forests. Instead, he was seeing buildings and cities turning to dust.

He let himself fall on the couch, next to Kiku. No one turned to him but Iwa-chan spoke up, voice calm.

"Other meteors landed near Beijing and Mumbai… More are expected to hit Europe, New York, and Brazil."

"People–"

"Won't have time to escape." Kiku finished in a shaky voice.

Tooru watched as cities fell, half of the people saying their goodbyes because they knew they couldn't escape in time while the other half of the citizens in danger were provoking chaos on roads, and accidents were erupting everywhere.

A sentence from the journalist finally seemed to reach him.

" _This catastrophe is about to change the world as we know it."_

Tooru's excitement had died from watching so much death and destruction provoked by 'meteors'. When the NASA and United Nations' officials made their declaration, he laughed at the tv, feeling anger pulsing through his veins. There was  _no way_  this was an accident, there was  _no way_  it was a space station test failing. They were  _lying_ , outrageously, obviously  _lying_  to the whole world! They had killed people, but didn't care and  _lied!_

"But they're the people in charge of that… They're humans – no one would be cruel enough to provoke so much death and destruction! Not  _intentionally!"_  Kiku argued, tightly holding her cup of tea as they discussed it the following day.

"The World Wars?" Oikawa said, raising an eyebrow, "As I recall there were lots of dead people and lots of destruction caused by cruel people!"

Kiku sent him an unamused glare, her lips tightening as he continued.

"There is no way they'd send the  _army_  to take care of a wreckage from some space station!" He continued, referring once again to what had happened to him the previous night. "They would send scientists, astronauts! Not a bloody major!"

"There's no proof anyway," Iwaizumi said with a shrug, "They're gonna cover it up, whatever 'it' is. It's best you stay out of this, Oikawa. I have a bad feeling about this."

"I have to go. I promised to help at the animal shelter. They've all been restless since last night with this meteor." Kiku announced, putting down her cup in the sink.

"It wasn't a meteor!" Oikawa exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter! Meteor or not, it killed people and we have to help each other! Not look for the responsible ones! There's nothing a detective like you, or any of us, could do against the army, or the NASA or the United Nations!" Kiku exclaimed, shaking her head.

Oikawa opened and closed his lips as she grabbed her jacket and bag and left the apartment after a quick kiss on Hajime's cheek.

"I'm gonna see Makki," Oikawa decided, standing up.

"Go see him, but it's not going to solve anything. I'm needed at the police station today. Don't make a mess, okay?" Iwaizumi continued.

They parted ways and it didn't take long for Oikawa to find one of his friends in his studio. It was closed off for today, but it didn't mean it was closed for him. He rang a few times until Hanamaki Takahiro opened for him, sighing at the sight of him.

"What have you done?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Oi! Is this a way to greet your friend?!"

Makki shook his head, but let him in. He entered the photographer's studio, which was colder and less welcoming than usual since it was closed. In the backroom, the tv was on and the news was still going. Everyone was grieving for the world.

"This is terrible, but I don't suppose you're here out of support for those poor trees…" Makki started, making coffee for the two of them.

"It's very rude of you to assume I wouldn't think of the people who were killed or hurt."

"I bet you thought it was one of your aliens."

Oikawa turned towards him with a determined expression and Hanamaki sighed again.

"They said it was an accident – a space station that fell down or something…" He mumbled, handing him the cup of coffee.

"Do you really believe that crap?" Oikawa asked, sounding almost disappointed his friend would believe such lies.

Makki shrugged helplessly, not really caring either way if it were aliens or humans who had caused this catastrophe.

"What if I told you that I got close,  _really_  close to the crash site? And guess what? The army was there – the  _army!_  They didn't send scientists or NASA people to clean up their mess – they sent the  _army!_  And among them a darn  _major!_  There's no way there isn't some sort of… of secret they're hiding from us! They're probably sending the 'space station parts' to Area 51 as we speak!"

"Okay, first of all!" Makki started, raising his hands to stop him, "That was completely stupid to go there! Second of all… so what? If you want to investigate that, you'll need–"

"Proof?" Oikawa finished, taking out his camera, "They didn't even look through my car, just sent me away. Because they know that whatever proof I have means nothing."

"Then, why–"

"Because I might have a lead on who  _would_  have evidence that I don't possess at the moment," Oikawa said.

Hanamaki sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes before sighing again and grabbing his camera.

"I'm gonna need more coffee than that. Go to the coffeeshop on the other side of the road – there's a new cute barista and I need her number. Get it for me."

Oikawa smirked while he took out the memory card. It was truly helpful that, over the years, he had gathered such good friends and Makki being a professional photographer really helped when it came to handling his photographic evidence. He always knew how to make the blurry visible.

A few minutes later, he came back with two full cups of coffee and Makki was on his computer, going through all the pictures to see which ones could be used.

"What were you doing? They're super blurry," he commented, grabbing the cup of coffee.

"I was  _driving_  in the  _forest_  chasing an  _alien_  crash site with the  _army_  all around me! I didn't have time to take clear pictures!" He exclaimed, "But I know you'll be able to work your miracle fingers, like always, Makki! I believe in you. Also, you were right, she's very cute that new barista."

Makki smirked when he saw the number written on his cup of coffee, but he frowned when he saw the name written there.

" _Issei?_  Isn't that the boss of the coffeeshop? Why the fuck would you get his number?" He exclaimed, whipping towards Oikawa.

"What? You said you wanted the barista's number. You didn't precise  _which_  barista – I thought you had a thing for curly dark hair?"

"Yeah, but not– I meant the girl! The new cute girl!"

"Oh~? You mean  _that_  girl?" Oikawa said, turning around his cup to show the phone number he had gotten from the new cute barista (he hadn't even asked her, she had written it on her own whim – the perks of being such a handsome and charming man).

"You're full of crap." Makki commented, shaking his head.

A few minutes later, he was showing Oikawa all of the close-ups he had managed to get some information from, like close-ups of the helicopters and trucks' license plates.

"We can't see anything regarding the meteor except that it's on fire and going down. As for the helicopters and trucks – they all belong to the army. But there's nothing you can get out of it."

"What about the motorbike?"

"The motorbike?"

Oikawa leaned forward, going through all the pictures, and showing a blurry picture with a motorbike on the side.

"Can you get me the license plate of that motorbike? He's a civilian, but he was gone by the time I reached the barriers. I think he might have managed to get into the restricted area."

Makki zoomed in and cleared up the photograph as best as he could. Oikawa grinned when the series of letters and numbers appeared.

"You're the best Makki. Here, the girl's number." He said, handing him the cup of coffee with the right number.

The first step to finding more clues about that night was figuring out who had managed to go through the forest and the army. This number plate was his best clue.

_Two months later, the Miyagi Police Station in the centre of Tokyo…_

Kuroo waltzed into the effervescent main room filled with desks and police officers. He used his height to check where that scary crow Superintendent was – nowhere in sight, good! He made sure to take the long-way around the desks, noticing the office of one of their inspectors still empty. His lips tightened just as a voice rose behind him.

"You're late, Kuroo."

He jumped out of his skin, whipping around and seeing the Superintendent he didn't want to see yet.

"Sa'amura! How nice to see you so early in the morning!" Kuroo piped.

"Not early  _enough_ ," Daichi said with a dark frown, putting on his bad cop face, "We've all been here for three hours! Your entire lab is here! Why are you the one missing?"

"I'm sorry. I'll be more careful, but I stayed here late last night to finish my files and overslept," Kuroo explained with a shrug, continuing his way towards his lab on the other side of the police station.

"Which happens too regularly. You wouldn't stay here late if you were arriving  _early_. I really don't know what's keeping me from firing you!" He mumbled, but he didn't mean it – or so Kuroo hoped.

"Because you can't get enough of me, my darling Sa'amura~!" Kuroo hummed teasingly with a wink as their paths separated.

Daichi passionately rolled his eyes and went into his office. Kuroo smirked to himself and almost bumped into someone, barely missing her and miraculously saving the cups of coffee he was bringing.

"Chief Inspector Shimizu-san~! Stunning as always!" He exclaimed as greeting, walking backwards to keep talking to her.

"You're late." She said calmly, not even turning her head towards him.

"You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen!" He shouted.

There was no answer and he chuckled to himself, opening the lab's door and immediately hearing the soothing sound of his team of scientists working.

"You're late,  _again!"_

He turned towards the hissing voice and met Saito Akane's vicious glare.

"But you love waiting for me, though, don't you?" He said with a wink.

She clicked her tongue and her hand went for the cup of coffee she knew was for her. He tried to pull it away as a manner of teasing, but she knew him too well and was too fast. He smiled good-heartedly as she walked away with her well-earned coffee.

"All right, my kittens! Let's get to work!" Kuroo exclaimed, putting down the coffee cups to the ones who needed it to function then he put on his coat.

"We've been doing that for the last three hours,  _captain!"_  Yakkun exclaimed in annoyance.

"I know, which is why you are the best forensic science team in Tokyo!" He congratulated.

Everyone growled but they all knew what their 'captain' was like and how well they all worked together.

Getting serious, Kuroo advanced to the big white board where more pictures had appeared since the previous night.

"More missing people?" He asked in a tight voice.

Akane, who was writing down some results, nodded darkly.

"Three more. The number of missing people is increasing."

"And I suppose it's the same pattern as always? No clue anywhere?"

"Nothing. Their apartments and job places are clean as new. No DNA, no print, no trace of blood or any other substance. We keep analysing the possible evidence, but so far, nothing."

Kuroo stared at the board, covered with more and more people's pictures each day – and there were more for the police officers to deal with. Their rooms and offices were constantly resonating with phone calls – people were freaking out and kept calling to announce the disappearance of their friends or family members. The police tried to calm the people and figure out if it really was a missing case – and if it was the same sort of missing case as the ones that had been haunting the news for the last month or so…

It had all started with that meteor that had killed and injured so many people. After the initial shock, and despite the general opinion that the governments were hiding something bigger than a failed space station test, life  _almost_  went back to normal. But then, people started disappearing. It seemed like a strange case or two, with no proof whatsoever. And little by little, everyday, it increased. More people disappearing, more cases with no proof of any sort, no way to link the victims to each other. Completely random people, disappearing at completely random times, no clue or lead even after a month of investigation… And it wasn't just in Japan – but everywhere around the world, despite the news covering it up.

Kuroo noticed Akane staring at a picture in particular – someone they all knew at the Miyagi Police Station. She was the fiancé of one of their inspectors and had been the very first missing case.

"We're gonna find her. All of them." He said trying to comfort her.

She hesitated, before nodding and sipping her coffee. Then, she went back to her computer.

"Thank you," she said in a hushed voice.

He glanced over his shoulder, wondering if she was thanking him for the encouraging words or the coffee.

He sensed the vibration of his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and he took it out, seeing a message from Akaashi Keiji that made him frown.

" _We have a problem. We need you ASAP."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have Bokuto and his "team" appearing! ;)
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER: THE BIRTH OF A HERO PART I
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	3. The Birth of a Hero – PART I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for kudo'ing and commenting! :D

FANFICTION 

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : RISE OF HEROES 

CHAPTER III : The Birth of a Hero – PART I 

" _So, your body's changing. Believe me, I know how that feels."_

―  **Captain America** _ **, Spiderman Homecoming**_

_The days following the night of the meteor…_

Bokuto Koutarou was sweating so much, he felt like drowning. He was breathing hard and couldn't see. Every light, every sound was provoking a new wave of headaches and nausea. Gripping his sheets, he suddenly tumbled off his bed. He didn't remember the steps that took him to the toilet but suddenly, he was throwing up all the contents of his stomach. He held himself against the wall as he continued being sick for what seemed like hours, the cold floor soothing his burning skin.

He didn't remember finding his way back into his bed, but he remembered waking up from a restless slumber. He felt like he was on fire, but he didn't have the strength to get up to drink water. He fell back asleep – or rather in a state of unconsciousness that sapped whatever was left of his energy.

_He felt like he was falling so fast that entering the atmosphere set him on fire. Every single one of his cells was bursting into flames, leaving nothing but an iridescent dust in his path. He didn't see the earth coming into view until he was falling into it, shredded to pieces and tearing apart the forest all around him. He became nothing but dazzling dust that followed the shockwave and the wind. Then he was gone, but he had become something new._

Koutarou awoke with a startle when the shrieking from his door resonated. He swallowed hard and glanced around, the blurriness slowly fading, leaving his vision a little clearer. What… had happened…? He didn't remember anything that had happened lately – he was certain he had had a weird dream though.

More knocking and he forced himself to stand up, his entire body groggy and weak. He was breathing heavily and was pretty sure he was stinking of sweat and sickness. The knocking got more impatient as he arrived.

"Yeah, yeah…!" He mumbled, voice raspy.

He tried to turn the doorknob, but his numb fingers struggled with the lock before finally opening the door to Kuroo.

"Finally, you–"

A gasp escaped his mouth and he dropped the two cups of coffee and the bag of pastries he was carrying. He stared at his friend with wide eyes.

Bokuto blinked before frowning.

"I know I'm sick and look like shit, but there's no need to react like that, dude…" He mumbled.

"T-that… B-Bokuto…" Kuroo stammered, still staring at him with round eyes.

Bokuto stared back at him, shaking lightly his head in confusion.

"What?"

"Y-your hair… it's… white…"

" _What?"_

Kuroo opened and closed his lips, blinking as if to check he wasn't dreaming, but the mortified look on his face confirmed that his friend's black hair had turned… white.

"Your hair is white… W-what have you done? Did you dye it?"

"What are you talking about…? My hair isn't white, it's black and fluffy. Unlike your mess of a bed-hair."

To confirm his words, he grabbed a strand of his hair and pulled it forward, but he gasped, as shocked as Kuroo earlier. He stared at the strand of hair he was holding between two fingers, his golden eyes widening. Not breathing, he remained frozen in shock for a moment then, he ran to the bathroom. Kuroo blinked then hesitantly followed him when a shriek resonated.

"MY HAIR!"

Kuroo joined his friend who was checking each and every hair, pulling and twisting as if the black might come back – some strands had remained black, but his head had mostly become a snowy fluffy mess.

"IT'S WHITE!" He shouted, turning with wide, panicked eyes at Kuroo.

"I can see that…"

"WHY IS IT WHITE?! KUROO! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"What… you don't remember dying it?" Kuroo asked, looking confused.

"WHY WOULD I DYE MY HAIR WHITE?!"

"I don't know, you're an idiot so that wouldn't be that surprising?"

" _KUROO!"_

Kuroo pouted at his shriek, observing closely Bokuto. He really looked shocked and kept checking his hair – he was even getting teary-eyed…

"Did you lose a bet with someone? Did you get drunk? Did you do drugs? Anything that would lead you to dying your hair  _white_  and not remember  _any_  of it?" Kuroo asked.

"NO! I spent the last… the last… what day are we? What… I was sick and…"

He looked so lost that there was no way he was faking it or dramatizing any of it. Kuroo realised that whatever had happened, it was  _real_.

"Calm down, we're… ugh, we haven't heard from you since you called in sick – that was five days ago. Do you really not remember anything?"

"Five days?!" He hissed, leaning back against the sink.

"That must have been a very stressful five days if it turned your hair white," he joked.

"KUROO!"

"Sorry, bad timing for a joke. What did you have anyway?"

"U-um…"

Bokuto started telling him about his symptoms, but Kuroo just shrugged.

"Sounds like the flu to me? Just very sudden and intense. Kenma wasn't feeling well either, I think it's just going around."

"The flu doesn't turn people's hair white!"

"Kenma's hair turned yellow," Kuroo shrugged.

"Stop joking around! I'm serious for once!" Bokuto shouted, "I didn't have the strength to move out of my bed, there's no way I could have dyed my hair!"

Kuroo kept staring at Bokuto, frowning to himself and trying to figure out what had happened to his friend. As Bokuto turned around, checking once again in the mirror if his hair had remained mostly white, Kuroo thought about it carefully.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"My hair is white!"

"Other than that, how does your body feel? Still feel like you have a flu?"

"U-um… well, I'm not doing great… I-I'd take a nap for five more days, especially if my hair goes back to black."

"It doesn't look that bad, honestly," Kuroo shrugged, "Y'know what? Just… rest some more. There must be some explanation to why your hair turned white."

"You think?"

"Science always explains everything." Kuroo said with a confident smirk.

Bokuto looked hopeful just as Kuroo grabbed a strand of his hair and tore it off. The sick boy jumped, crying out in pain.

"Come on, you overly-sensitive baby, it didn't hurt that much," Kuroo mumbled, putting the evidence in a clean handkerchief.

He forced Bokuto to go back to his bed and he quickly fell asleep, looking exhausted and weak. He was shaking from the fever and Kuroo finally let his worried expression show on his face.

He went back to the lab, surprising the few people who weren't expecting him back from his lunch break so soon. Taking the opportunity that most people were out or busy, Kuroo prepared Bokuto's hair for some analysis. While some of the hair was being molecularly analysed, he started observing the hair under the microscope. It looked perfectly human and perfectly normal, if not for its white colour. He was reading some papers on canities subita, the sudden whitening of hair caused mostly by stress or shock – soldiers from the world wars had seen their hair turn white in just a few days –, when the DNA extracting machine beeped. The results were sent to his computer and he looked over it.

"What the…"

"What are you looking at?"

Kuroo jumped and whipped around, seeing Yaku here. He looked exhausted.

"Yakkun! What are you doing here? Wasn't your baby girl born just a week ago? I thought you had decided to take a break to help out your wife."

"She's still exhausted after the birth. The doctors don't really know why… I was just passing by to get some stuff. What are you looking into?" He asked again, leaning forward to read.

Kuroo quickly put away the tabs, and smiled awkwardly.

"Just some DNA analysis for an investigation from a long time ago. Just wanted to check that we hadn't made any mistake."

Yakkun stared at him, thinking that he was acting strange. Then, he shrugged, having more on his mind that whatever his friend was hiding.

"I gotta go back to the hospital soon."

"Keep us updated! Keep sending pictures of your baby girl, okay?"

"Yes, yes!"

As soon as Yaku was gone and he was certain no one was around, Kuroo printed all the results and quickly hid all the samples he had collected from Bokuto. Then, he erased all proof of what he had researched from his computer and quickly put everything in his bag.

Back in his apartment, Koutarou was still feeling groggy and numb. But the one thing that had changed since this morning was that he was famished and thirstier than in his entire life – he had barely stopped eating and drinking ever since he had woken up and he was running out of food from his cupboards and fridge.

He checked his phone – a few messages from his friends, colleagues, and mom who were all worried when they hadn't heard from him in a while. He was usually very social, so it had seemed very weird that he hadn't communicated much the last few days.

It didn't take long for Akaashi Keiji, his best friend, to send a reply:  _"I was really worried when I heard you were sick. I went by the other day, but you weren't there. I'll come over later if you need anything."_

"I  _was_  there, just unconscious," he mumbled out loud even though Akaashi couldn't hear.

Grumbling to himself when he was still hungry, he went to the bathroom to check if his hair was still white. He struggled a little with the doorknob, and he pulled a little too strongly because he almost fell over. When he looked down, he was holding the doorknob that had been torn from the door… and it was falling in pieces from his hand. He heard a popping sound coming from the inside of the door – more must have broken from the inside, but at least the door was opened.

"What the fuck?" He wondered out loud, letting go of the doorknob that fell at his feet.

It hadn't been fragile before, on the contrary it had been too tightly stuck on the door. He always had to use strength to open it. There was a hole where the door doorknob had been a moment ago, and the doorknob itself was twisted under the shape of his grip and fingers.

"What is happening to me…?"

A ringing at the door startled him. He hurried there, but before opening the door, a glance in the mirror reminded him that he had turned white. He looked around while there was more knocking – only Akaashi rang then knocked to announce his arrival.

"Uh! A minute!" Bokuto exclaimed.

He ran back into his bedroom and went through his clothes, looking for something to hide his hair. More knocking and a minute later, his phone was ringing impatiently. Bokuto reached for it to tell Akaashi to wait, but the moment his hand closed around it, the phone fell apart and in little pieces.

"What the–"

He finally found a woollen cap that he pulled down over his head while running back to the entrance. On his way there, he threw the rest of his phone on the couch and hid it with a pillow. At the door, he froze before grabbing the doorknob and, afraid of breaking something else, he very slowly pushed down the doorknob with one finger. Then, he realised that it was still locked.

"Fuck–"

"Bokuto-san?" Akaashi called, voice smothered on the other side of the door.

"A minute!"

He delicately turned the key to unlock the door then pushed down the doorknob with one finger. Nothing broke and he grinned. Akaashi pushed the door and it hit Bokuto's head who jumped backwards.

"Bokuto-san! Sorry! I didn't think you would be so close to the door!" Akaashi exclaimed.

"It's fine, it's fine! I've got a tough skull!"

Akaashi didn't look amused but his eyes narrowed, taking in his friend's dishevelled appearance. Pyjamas stinking from sweat, covered in the greasy remains of the food he had swallowed without even chewing, and an owl woollen cap over his head.

"Why are you wearing a woollen cap?" He asked, confused.

"Because… I'm… cold…" He answered awkwardly.

"…You're wearing shorts. And it's August, Bokuto-san. You're sweating and your face is pale. You still look very sick – have you seen a doctor yet?"

"Uh… not exactly…"

"Please don't tell me that you called Kuroo-san again, he's a chemist – not a doctor!"

"I didn't  _call_  him per say – he just showed up without warning."

Akaashi sighed then took off his shoes, continuing into the apartment. He blinked when he saw the amount of empty boxes and cans of food that were piled up everywhere in the kitchen and living-room.

"What… happened here exactly?"

Bokuto was too busy sweeping away the remains of his phone that had fallen to the ground with his foot to really listen.

"Uh? What?"

"I just asked you what happened here…? Is that– your bathroom doorknob? What happened?"

Bokuto looked between the doorknob still on the ground and his friend who jumped to conclusions way too quickly.

"Were you robbed?! Is this what happened? Is this why you're acting so strangely? I'm calling the cops–"

"No, no, no!" Bokuto shouted, grabbing his phone, but he wasn't careful and the delicate device cracked and shattered.

Akaashi stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'm… I'm fine! I swear, nothing happened! No burglar, no nothing!" Bokuto exclaimed, "I'll pay back your phone I swear…!"

"What… you just…"

"The screen must have been cracked so when I grabbed it, it just fell apart, that's all! Ah ah! Akaesgghi, why didn't you fix your phone earlier ahah!"

He sounded nervous and was sweating bullets now,  _literally_.

"Bokuto-san, you just destroyed my phone with your bare hand. My phone screen wasn't cracked… what… are you the one who ate all that? And tore apart the doorknob?"

"I can't tell anymore…" Bokuto admitted with wide eyes, looking pale and frightened, "I-I don't know what's happening…"

Akaashi opened and closed his lips just as the entrance door opened once again.

"Oi! Bokuto! I just got the results from the lab about your hair turning white!" Kuroo started from the other side of the apartment, "Also, I tried calling you! Why didn't you answer?"

His voice trailed off when he entered the living-room and noticed Akaashi.

"What is going on here?" Akaashi hissed, glancing between the two young men who looked baffled.

Kuroo glanced around then frowned and pointed at the mess in the kitchen.

"What… happened  _here?_  Is that… bloody hell, is that a  _phone_  at your feet? And is that… a door doorknob over there? What the…?"

"I-I couldn't answer your call because my phone is in the same state…" Bokuto answered sheepishly.

"But your phone is a  _Nokia?_  It's indestructible! We tested it at the zoo and the aquarium, it survived the fall from the top of a building!"

"Kuroo-san, is this really important right now? What is this story of Bokuto-san's hair turning  _white?"_ Akaashi said, sounding angry.

Bokuto reached for his woollen hat, then took it off. Akaashi gasped with wide eyes at the unexpected sight.

"I can explain…" He started before frowning at himself, "Actually… no I can't but… I-I think… I don't know what happened exactly…?"

Akaashi turned towards Kuroo who let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm as confused as the both of you.  _But_  I do have some… clue?"

"Am I dying?" Bokuto asked fearfully.

"Probably not."

" _Probably!?"_

"Could either of you explain to me what happened exactly?" Akaashi asked in an exasperated voice.

Bokuto was too shaken to explain anything – and the more he tried to remember anything, the more confused he became, so Kuroo explained the little that they knew: he had gotten really sick, didn't remember anything and his hair had turned white. And he apparently had developed a destructive grip of sort?

"Could it be related to that meteor a week ago?" Akaashi asked when he was done.

"I… think it might be. I've done some research from Bokuto's sample of hair and microscopically – there's nothing wrong. It's a perfectly normal, healthy, white hair… But then, I extracted some DNA from it…"

The turned-white-haired man swallowed hard when Kuroo's voice trailed off.

" _Something_  happened, but I need more samples and more analysis that will take time. And I can't do it at my lab – too many people all the time, it'll won't go unnoticed and I don't think it'd be a good idea to tell people that my friend got white hair and mutated DNA after that meteor fall."

"Mutated?! Is it okay?! Is it supposed to do that?!" Bokuto exclaimed.

Akaashi looked thoughtful then turned his head towards Kuroo.

"We have an unoccupied research facility. Would the lab in it be enough for your research?"

"It depends on what's in there, but I can make-do."

The calm man nodded. Akaashi Keiji was the son of the director of a big medical group in Japan – hospitals, medicine, pharmacies, they doorknob most of the Japanese and Asiatic market, and even the global market.

"We should go then, as soon as possible before… whatever is happening is too late," Akaashi said, glancing quickly at Bokuto, but not daring to voice his worst fears to his friend.

" _Too late?_  What do you mean 'too late'? What  _is_  'too late'?" Bokuto asked, panicked, "Kuroo…?"

"Let's just go, okay?"

It took a few hours for the three young men (two, considering Bokuto was mostly useless or breaking everything he touched) to get to that abandoned research facility and get the electricity running again. After a quick check-up on the equipment there, Kuroo considered it good enough and he started some more tests.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor?" Akaashi asked discreetly to Kuroo in-between tests.

"He's getting better," he answered, checking Bokuto's vitals that kept getting better and better every hour.

"I mean… if he's been… if his DNA was mutated as you said, that's a very big problem that could… kill him, right?"

Kuroo hesitated, keeping his lips thin.

"I  _did_  consider calling a doctor, but… if his DNA  _was_  mutated, the only factor that I can think about is that meteor. If a doctor we can't trust learns about this and shares the news to the wrong person, what do you think is going to happen?"

"Panic." Akaashi answered, frowning lightly, "Everyone is still in shock in the aftermath of the meteors and all its victims. NASA and scientists keep repeating that there is nothing to fear, but if we learn that it  _does_  have consequences on humans…"

"Riots, panic, and I don't know what else. Maybe only Bokuto has been affected, maybe everyone, maybe only a few. We don't know and until we have answers, it's best we keep quiet. And…"

Akaashi glanced at him, waiting for him to continue.

"It's only rumours, but apparently, the army has been sent to every meteor crash site. They've become restricted areas. And not just the Japanese army, but  _every_  meteor crash site has been rendered dangerous and inaccessible. Who knows what the army or scientists would do if they learned that Bokuto has been affected by this meteor?"

"Do you think they're hiding something?" Akaashi asked, glancing back at Bokuto who was again eating all the food he could ingest.

"It's  _obvious_  they were hiding something from the beginning. The question is…  _what_  are they hiding." He answered, glancing at Bokuto with a worried look on his face, "Of course if I notice that Bokuto's health declines or that anything goes wrong… well,  _more_  wrong than his sudden super strength and super appetite, I'll call a doctor and send him to the hospital."

"…I know a few people we could trust if things go wrong. Konoha-san and his team are very efficient and if they're asked to be discreet, they will be."

"Good to know. But I've called someone who might be able to help us too."

"Who?"

Just then, the main door slid open and they turned around.

"Why did you bring me here for, Kuroo? I'm tired, I wanna go to bed…" Kenma muttered, hands in his pockets.

"Kenma! You actually came! I thought you'd ignore my messages!"

"You said it was an emergency… and you sent me GPS coordinates without any more explanation. I  _almost_  got worried when I noticed it was an abandoned research facility."

"Aaaw, you were worried about me~!" Kuroo hummed, putting his hands on his heart.

"I take it back now."

"Hold on, Kozume-san – this facility was closed, you shouldn't have been able to get in without the password and we should have been alerted!" Akaashi started.

"Ah? Yeah, your security system sucks by the way."

Akaashi frowned not appreciating that he had managed to get in so easily. As if reading his mind, Kuroo intervened, putting a hand on Kenma's shoulder:

"I called him. He keeps it low-key, but he's not  _just_  a pro gamer. He also knows informatics and computers on a level that we can't even comprehend. He's hacked into plenty of video games companies, into  _your_  company and even NASA."

" _Once_. And I almost got caught." Kenma corrected.

"What do you mean  _my_  company too?" Akaashi asked suspiciously, but Kenma ignored him.

He stepped further into the big room and glanced around, noticing all the medical and research instruments that were working – and Bokuto who was still at the other side of the room, too busy eating to realise what was happening. But he stood up upon noticing Kenma.

"Kenma! You're here! I'm so glad to see you!" He said, putting down his hands on the table to stand up, and breaking a part of it.

Kenma blinked once upon seeing that, and took in the white hair. Then, despite his eyes showing his brain already making theories, he calmly turned towards Kuroo and Akaashi.

"…Is anyone going to explain to me what the heck is going on?" He asked, his voice low and almost soothing.

_Some time later…_

Kenma kept staring at Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi with the biggest expression of annoyance on his face. His head seemed about to explode, his brain seemed on fire. That whole story… it was crazy, but it… made sense. There was no other way to explain Bokuto's sudden white hair and super strength, except for some influence from that meteor.

"…And why exactly did you call me?"He finally asked, turning towards Kuroo.

"Well… I'm a chemist, as you know–"

"And here I thought you were a professional imbecile."

"–But I don't know  _that_  much about medicine and computer science, unlike  _you_ , and I thought that you could help us out with Bokuto and, y'know trying to figure out what happened to him." Kuroo explained, ignoring the insult.

"Hold on– I can handle myself in informatics, but I'm  _not_  a doctor in any way!"

"You played a video game where you were a doctor!"

"It was a  _game!"_

Kuroo opened his lips to reply, but Akaashi intervened, imposing himself despite his calm voice.

"Kuroo-san, that wasn't what I had in mind when I mentioned needing medical attention. But, Kozume-san could help us out with his skills in computers if he is as good as you claim, and  _apparently,_  my security system isn't good enough."

"That really ruffled your feathers, uh, Akaashi?" Kenma said with a nonchalant shrug and arrogant smirk.

Akaashi decided not to answer that, turning then towards Kuroo.

"How far along are your tests and exams?" He asked.

"It should be done soon… then, we'll be able to try to figure out what happened. Meanwhile… Kenma, why don't you  _prove_  your skills to Mr. Sceptical over here?" Kuroo continued as Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to prove anything…" Kenma sighed.

"Come on, help us out! It's for the greater good! It's for our friend! I'm just asking you to try to get to some satellite stuff and maybe NASA or–"

"Kenma, please," Bokuto finally intervened, stepping forward, "I know you and I don't always get along best because you're all tiny and quiet and I'm  _me_ , but… I  _do_  consider you my friend and I'm… I'm freaking out… and more importantly, if what is happening to me was caused by this meteor, don't you think we should know? In order to help whoever might also be affected?"

Kenma hesitated, pursing his lips. It wasn't that he didn't want to help – but he didn't think he  _could_  help. And he had a bad feeling that if he accepted, he was going to get himself into an exhausting mess.

"Maybe we're all going to die," Kuroo said, with a dramatic shake of his head.

"Oh, how unfortunate…" Kenma said, rolling his eyes.

Kuroo frowned, starting to get really annoyed but before he could say anything, Kenma walked towards the main room with the computer and started typing on it.

"It's gonna take me some time– I need to upgrade this shitty security system first. I don't think you want NASA and the army at your doorstep, Akaashi."

"I would indeed prefer to avoid that."

"I've got work tomorrow, so just… go do whatever experiments you want…" Kenma said, waving them off with a hand.

"Thank you, Kenma!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"I knew we could count on you!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Is there anything you want?" Bokuto asked excitedly, starting to walk all around Kenma and looking at what he was doing.

"Yes, shut up and let me breathe," he answered, tapping the young man's hand when he tried to push a random button.

"Come on, bro, we need to do some more analyzing" Kuroo said, pulling Bokuto away.

During the few days that followed, the four men spent more time than they would acknowledge cramped up together in the research facility. A good amount of time was spent setting up and upgrading the equipment as they did more and more tests – Bokuto was helping out with the heavy-lifting, even though he was closely monitored. He kept eating a lot and kept breaking out into random fever episodes and sudden surges of super strength – but after three days, the fevers stopped completely, after five, he started eating 'reasonable' amounts of food, and after a week, he adapted to his new strength and wasn't breaking everything he grabbed. All his vitals were stabilised and back to a normal human being. The only difference was that he still had super strength and his DNA was now mutant. Kuroo had noticed variations in it over the days, some part of it had been constantly changing and rearranging itself – which might have caused the physical reactions.

"It's a miracle your DNA didn't collapse on itself and you didn't get destroyed on a molecular level," Kuroo said in awe after a week and a half of tests.

"…Is that supposed to comfort me?" Bokuto asked, confused and still not quite reassured about what had happened to him.

"I did some investigating of my own," Kenma said, "I managed to hack NASA but they're  _really_  protecting everything they've got, even more than before. I found some stuff but I kept getting shut out whenever I approached something called the OWL Project. I have no idea what that is, it's as protected as the safety of the Internet exchange points across the world."

"The OWL Project?" Akaashi repeated, frowning lightly.

"Don't try to understand what it is, there's no way to know without getting  _in_. And you  _can't_  get in. As for the other info I've gathered… that meteor wasn't a meteor at all."

"What a surprise," Kuroo snorted as Kenma took his tablet and approached a big screen that showed everything he had to share.

"Have a look at that."

They saw a map that they didn't quite understand at first before realizing it showed the Earth. There was a blinking red dot that travelled above the Earth, then it divided into several points that started following predicted trajectories.

"Those are the different parts of the meteor – it didn't fall apart because it entered our atmosphere. It was  _supposed_  to do that and go to all the place it landed," Akaashi realised.

Dread fell on all of them – such a catastrophe had been caused by  _humans?_  Such chaos, destruction and death?

Before the silence became too long, Kenma continued.

"Yeah, but  _that_  is a recording of what happened the night of the meteor. And they definitely tried to override it and stop it from happening, but obviously it didn't work."

"That's why the army and NASA were so quick to react – they knew they had messed up so they sent people ASAP to gather up whatever they could from the crash sites," Kuroo concluded.

"Whatever this 'OWL Project' is, it wasn't planned and they didn't want anyone to find out about it," Kenma said, "But it's not the only thing I found out – here is some footage that I could hack into before it disappeared, probably in the OWL Project file."

They saw a satellite image of the different crash sites – the moment the 'meteor' touched the ground, they could see the initial shock wave caused by the impact, then a second wave, one that couldn't be seen by the human eye. It looked like a radioactive cloud.

"The impact of the 'meteor' let out some sort of… whatever. A particle of sort, but I couldn't find what it was. It has no colour, no smell, no nothing. But it still happened, it's almost like…"

"Like the radioactive cloud from Chernobyl? But it's not radioactive. It wouldn't have had such an effect on Bokuto."

"Any more info is too well protected. I won't be able to hack into this OWL Project for now. They don't even care about trying to find who tries to hack in. They just want it shut. It's how much they care about its complete secrecy."

"So something did happen the night with that meteor, and it affected my DNA and turned my hair white and gave me this… super strength, right? Do you think… other people might have been affected too?" Bokuto asked, turning towards the three others.

"I think it has…" Kuroo nodded gravely, glancing quickly at Kenma, "I did some similar tests with all three of our DNA. Akaashi and I didn't have any change in our DNA, but Kenma… your's has mutated too."

"Eeeh… I had guessed that much," He answered calmly.

"Wait, you knew?!" Akaashi exclaimed, eyes widening despite his relief of having remained normal.

"But your hair isn't white! And you still have the strength of a twig!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Well, when Bokuto described his feelings, I remembered that I had been sick too. I'm often sick and I have a lot of fevers when I overwork myself, so I had assumed it was the usual. But I've felt a change in me…" He admitted, looking down at his fingers that he was flexing, "It's like… everything is easier, everything makes sense, and every connection is obvious to me. That's why I could hack in so easily."

"So… it varies from person to person?" Akaashi concluded.

"That makes sense. Every person has different DNA, so its structure was affected differently, with different consequences. If Bokuto got some sort of super strength, then… Kenma got super intelligence, I guess. Not much difference from before, then."

"What about others? Is there a pattern, a way to find out who was affected by this substance?" Akaashi asked, pointing at the screen that still showed the diffusion of the invisible cloud.

"I hope there  _is_  a pattern, because if it affected people randomly then… how many more people have gone through changes that might be worse than a high IQ or brawns?" Kuroo continued, apprehensive at the thought of what their society would become.

Bokuto slowly approached the screen, watching the invisible cloud that had hit him and changed the fundamentals of his DNA.

"And how many of these people are dangerous…" He whispered, his expression dark despite the light of strange determination in his golden eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be part II! ;D
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	4. The Birth of a Hero – PART II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the new chapter! Thank you to everyone who kudoed and commented! :D

FANFICTION 

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER IV : The Birth of a Hero – PART II

" _Someone once told me that the suit doesn't make the hero, so you fight it. You can be a hero. You just have to have faith in what you are and what you're gonna be. It's your choice, kid. You choose."_

―  **Booster Gold, Smallville, ep. #10-18**

After more check-ups from Kuroo and Kenma, Bokuto was allowed to leave the research facility and go back to a "normal" life. He mostly had control over his new body, so nothing should go wrong. But when he went back and was met with dozens of messages from his friends, co-workers, and family, he realised how much time had really gone by. He sent a message to his manager at work, telling her he'd be back the following day.

He went into his bathroom to take a well-deserved bath in order to relax and stared at his whitened hair. He put a hand through it, sending it backwards and seeing some of the strands that had remained black. He looked down at the black dye Akaashi had bought for him that day.

" _Why do you look so hesitant? It's black dye. It'll be as if nothing had happened to you," Akaashi had told him earlier._

" _Yeah…"_

" _The rest of his body hair is white though, but as long as he keeps his clothes on, no one should notice," Kuroo answered._

" _Then don't get drunk again," Kenma intervened._

" _I won't take off my clothes!"_

" _You always take off your clothes when you're drunk."_

_Bokuto mumbled to himself, frowning and staring at the dye product._

" _I'm not sure if I'll dye my hair back to black. I think… I'm growing fond of that white and black hair. It makes me stand out, y'know."_

" _Oh, believe me you don't need that kind of hair to stand out, Bokuto," Kenma said very seriously, "You stand out enough without even trying."_

" _It'd feel fake dying my hair and pretending like nothing happened when something_ _ **did**_ _happen. I'm not the same anymore…"_

" _Well, do whatever you want. But don't whine if people comment on your weird hair," Akaashi said with a shrug._

Koutarou stared at his reflection – greyish eyebrows, white and black hair, golden eyes… Well, he was a changed man, after all. At least he hadn't grown wings or something  _really_  weird like that.

When he arrived at work the following day though, people's reaction made him uneasy. He startled as they all gasped, eyes widening at his sight.

"B-Bokuto…?!" Shirofuku, his manager, exclaimed, "W-what happened to your hair?!"

"Ahah… eh, I dyed it – looks cool, isn't it?" He said, looking enthusiastic enough that they wouldn't notice his discomfort.

"You left some black though… or is it on purpose?" Komiyan, another one of his co-workers said, pointing at his hair.

"On purpose! Isn't it cool? Isn't it? Isn't it?!" He exclaimed.

"It actually does. Maybe I should dye my hair a weird colour too…" Komi continued.

"It'd make you stand out, and with that height, you don't want that," Shirofuku said with an amused smile.

" _OI!_  Shirofuku!"

She ignored him and turned back towards Bokuto.

"We didn't hear from you for almost two weeks. Did something happen?" She asked.

"Ah… I was completely out – angina that got worse and became pneumonia… I have a doctor's note!" He exclaimed, pulling out a paper from his bag.

Shirofuku read the doctor's note that confirmed he had been absent for two weeks due to pneumonia. When she nodded, Bokuto had to fight off the grin of relief on his face – it was great that Akaashi had managed to have his personal doctor write a completely fake note like that. His co-workers took that smile for excitement though.

"Okay… I'm glad that you're back. It's been… complicated," Shirofuku said.

Bokuto darkened, remembering that the last time he had been there were the days following the meteor – the animals had been so frightened and nervous…

"What happened with the animals?"

"Meimei lost her baby… and she's been depressed ever since. We're worried she won't make it either."

"Oh no…"

Meimei the panda expecting a baby, for the first time in Japan in years, had been such great news! But because of this meteor, she had lost her baby and might not make it…

"We had some other animals who died, from stress probably. We couldn't find anything wrong with them when we did the autopsy. Others have been injured because they had tried to escape their cages and got hurt, or had gotten into fights – but now everyone is getting better," Komi explained as head-veterinarian of the Ueno Zoo, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The poor animals have been as terrified and stressed as all of us because of this meteor, but they didn't have any way to understand what was happening…" Shirofuku concluded sadly.

"Because  _we_  understand what happened maybe?" Komi mocked, raising an eyebrow.

She pouted before turning Bokuto.

"We're short on the team too. A veterinarian has taken a break, Kinoshita hasn't been heard from for a few days as well, and three of our helpers are gone, plus two guides. We've had to re-organise everyone's schedules…"

She sighed, and he finally noticed that she looked tired – as head curator, she oversaw keepers, veterinarians, and other members of the support staff. She was involved with all of the day to day decisions, developing research projects, and acquiring new animals for exhibits and breeding programs – Meimei's baby had been very important for Shirofuku, but now…

"This morning, you'll go take care of the birds and otters. Check with Watanabe and Ito if they've prepared the food for them."

"Okay… Thanks."

He went to change his clothes and get into proper zookeeper gear, but before he could leave, Shirofuku spoke up again.

"Bokuto! Don't disappear like that again, okay?" She said with a smile.

He turned around, surprised by her worry and relief, then he grinned.

"Yeah!"

Once changed, he joined the animal nutritionists' room where they were preparing every animals' meals throughout the day and night, following the nutritionists' instructions.

He went to feed all the animals, taking some time to observe them closely, but he didn't notice any strange behaviour from the birds or otters. It was reassuring – going back to work, hearing his co-workers' usual banter, going to take care of the animals he looked after… He was particularly happy when some of the owls – he had always been very attached to owls thanks to his family name, even if he regretted there being no Great-Horned Owl at the Ueno Zoo – ran to him when they recognized him. They were piping happily, as if voicing their worry that they hadn't seen him in two weeks.

"I missed you too, guys," he said, quickly setting up the dead mice, so they could eat them.

In the afternoon, he was sent to the Aye-aye forest in the West Garden.

"You're sure you don't want me to stay a little longer? If the teams are reduced…"

"It's okay~! You just recovered from pneumonia. You need to rest! And for now, the zoo is still closed to the public, so we don't have as much work as usual. Just go home!" Shirofuku said at the end of the day.

He hesitated, but after some more arguing about it, she forced him out of the room. He changed back into his civilian clothes, then started his way back home. Feeling the need to walk and spend some of his energy, he decided to walk.

A sudden crashing sound made him jump then whip around. He had heard the sound from far away but– he started running towards the crash, realizing that he was much faster than usual… but before he could accelerate or understand the fact that he was faster than before, he saw the car accident that had happened. He approached the chaos and from what he heard he understood that one car had driven into the other. The hospital was called and a doctor on site had already looked at the first victim.

"We can't open the door!" Some passerby said, desperately pulling at the door of the car that had been almost crushed in.

Bokuto saw a woman in there, unconscious. The car door had been pushed in by the violence of the impact and it was impossible to open it.

"Does anyone have a tool we could use to open the door?!"

"Maybe we could break the window?"

"The lady will still be stuck there and we might hurt her…!"

"Let me help!" Bokuto exclaimed suddenly.

When they saw the big guy come forward, they stepped away. He grabbed the door handle and, trying to be careful, pulled away. When the others had struggled he opened it as easily as if it was a Tupperware lid. He left the door on the side and pulled at the seatbelt, tearing it apart so he could free the victim. He pulled her into his arms and brought her to the doctor nearby.

"Wow… How strong is that guy?"

"He opened the door so easily – I was certain it was stuck…"

Bokuto glanced around and passed a hand behind his head.

"Ahah, uh… I… I work out," he said sheepishly.

The others didn't seem fazed by it – it was hard not to notice the impressive biceps under his clothes.

The ambulance arrived and the people let them through to get access to the injured people – but the crowd grew thicker out of curiosity. Koutarou walked away to watch from afar and glanced down at his hand. He had helped these people thanks to his strength – perhaps he could have helped even before this mutation, but… how much time would have been lost? How many people could he help with this newfound strength?

When the passerby who tried to help earlier turned around to thank Bokuto, he was gone.

Koutarou called Kuroo on his way back to his apartment.

"Hey, Kuroo! I have something to ask you – do you think we could measure the limits of my new strength? My stamina, my speed, everything?" He asked over the phone.

" _I was planning on doing that someday. Why? Did something happen?"_

"I'm just curious!"

Kuroo didn't seem convinced, but the following weekend, the group of four met at an abandoned runway with an old and small aircraft hangar from World War II.

"How come we can be here? Isn't it under protection of whatever?" Kenma asked while he was setting up the computers they had transported in a big van.

"We bought this property a few months ago for a clinical project, but we don't have the authorization to build anything yet," Akaashi said, "Nothing will happen here for a few more months at least."

"And no one will know about it?" Kuroo asked, looking around.

There were some habitation nearby, but they were surrounded by trees and it was mostly deserted.

"Unless Bokuto-san somehow provokes an explosion of sort that will indicate to everyone that we're here and doing illegal tests on a human being, I doubt it."

"Great, we're doing illegal stuff now…" Kenma mumbled.

" _You_  don't get to say that when you're the one who hacked into various sites  _way_  before the meteor crashed," Kuroo said accusingly, typing on his computer and tablet to set up the right parameters.

"Bokuto-san, are you ready yet?" Akaashi asked, knocking at the van's door.

"I look stupid!" He exclaimed, voice smothered.

"I'm sure you don't. Come out so we can start the tests."

"…Don't laugh! Kuroo, don't you dare fucking laugh, okay!?"

"Me? Laughing? Why would I? You knew how pure of heart I am," he answered.

Kenma snorted at that, without even glancing at his friend just as the door opened. They turned around, seeing Bokuto show up with a big pout on his face. He had been forced to wear some sort of bright yellow, skin-tight outfit.

Akaashi did his best to maintain a poker face, but Kuroo bent over laughing his heart out. Kenma snorted with a mocking smirk and Akaashi turned away, trying to hide his extremely amused smile.

"O-OI! You said you wouldn't laugh!" Bokuto shouted.

"We didn't actually say anything," Kenma answered calmly.

"YOU LOOK LIKE A FREAKING MINION!" Kuroo wheezed, on his knees.

"KUROO, I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOU INTO OBLIVION!" Bokuto shouted, face turning red.

Once everyone (read: Kuroo) had calmed down, they started putting various electronics all over his body.

"All right, so I'll keep an eye on your vitals while Kenma checks your power. We're going to try to figure out your speed, your strength, and your flexibility. If I tell you to stop, you listen, got it?" Kuroo said, tapping at his ear to indicate the ear piece the whole team shared.

"I'm not stupid," Bokuto answered, still looking annoyed after being mocked so openly.

Kuroo raised a doubtful eyebrow before pointing at the long and wide runway.

"There is two-hundred meters of nothing, just you running free like the wild animal you are–"

" _Oi!"_

"–Then there'll be some obstacles to see if you can move around and react to them despite your speed."

"Hmpf!"

"Whenever you're ready, Bokuto," Kenma said, typing a few last things to start recording everything.

Bokuto glanced at them quickly, then went to the starting blocks, leaning down. Akaashi approached then, a minute later. He fired a fake pistol to announce the start. Bokuto started running, used to sprints, with years of sports behind him. He quickly realised that he even though he was currently running at what once was his top-speed, he could run way faster now. He accelerated, finally feeling the familiar strain in his legs and body, but there was no pain, he wasn't even out of breath yet.

"Wow, he's running fast," Kuroo commented, keeping an eye on the vitals.

"He's past the 60m mark, and his speed is of 62mph." Kenma commented.

"It's almost as fast as cars on the highway– how are his vitals?" Akaashi asked.

"Fine, heart a little fast, but nothing unexpected when doing physical activities, such as running."

"He's approaching the obstacles," Kenma intervened.

They looked up just as Bokuto reached the series of obstacles. Kuroo had placed a big pit filled with sand to calculate his long jump distance. As Bokuto approached it, he accelerated and jumped from the wooden plank. He didn't land in the sand and jumped above the sand pit and far beyond it, leaving his friends stunned. In awe at his own long-distance jumping abilities – at least fifteen meters! – Bokuto started laughing, looking behind him. He was ecstatic, he was excited, adrenaline was pumping into his veins–

He tried to brake when he suddenly saw the series of hurdles waiting for him, but he was too taken into his momentum. He hit the first hurdle and fell over, rolling on the ground for several meters and bringing down several hurdles.

"Damn!" Akaashi exclaimed, starting to run to join Bokuto.

"I'm not running that far, even if he's dying," Kenma mumbled to himself, making some more calculations.

"I should put more distance in-between the hurdles to see if he can–"

"Kuroo-san! Now is not the time! Let's go check on him!" Akaashi exclaimed.

Kuroo opened his mouth, but Akaashi stopped running when, in the distance, he saw Bokuto stand up, fists to the sky. He laughed so loudly that it echoed all the way to them.

"Did you see that?! Did you see what I just did?!" He shouted.

"Well, he sounds enthusiastic about being a mutant now," Kenma said.

They spent the rest of the day doing more exercises – trying to break his speed record and for Bokuto to actually finish the race. At some point, unable to control his speed, he just ran through the hurdles and fell several times. He was able to lift almost 700 pounds. And even though they put him through extremely tiring physical activities, his endurance barely wavered until the end of the day.

"All your vitals were normal through it all, which confirmed what we thought about your abilities. It doesn't seem to be on the level of superhuman strength, but it's the strongest a human being could have."

"Like Captain America then," Kenma concluded.

"I'm like Captain America?! This is so cool!" Bokuto exclaimed, almost buzzing in excitement.

"Calm down. We still need to make sure there will be no consequences for you by tomorrow – or in the long-term," Akaashi said, driving the van back to the center of Tokyo.

"What if the thing that was released by the meteor when it hit the ground was like the Captain America serum?" Bokuto continued, leaning forward to look at his friends.

Kuroo and Kenma glanced at each other, then shrugged.

"Who knows. Unless I get my hands on the source itself, I won't be able to tell what it was made of just from how it mutated in you. At least, not so easily. I'd need to run some more tests–"

"If you ask me for one more sample of my DNA, I'm gonna sue you," Kenma grumbled, falling into himself and closing his eyes to doze off.

"Bokuto–"

"Yeah! Do whatever you need, Kuroo! I want to know if I was injected with Captain America's serum!"

"That's not exactly what's going on here, but your enthusiasm is  _appreciated_ ," Kuroo said, sending a heavy stare in Kenma's direction who ignored him completely.

"What if I could become a hero like him?! That'd be so cool!"

"Hold on, you can't just become a hero like that," Akaashi said, frowning lightly – Bokuto was getting  _too_  enthusiastic. He didn't like that and Kuroo was doing nothing to help.

"But, Akeasghi!"

"No 'but's! There is no reason for you to be a hero. Police officers, doctors, and firemen already exist. If you want to save people, become one of them. Learn the  _proper_  way of doing it instead of endangering yourself and others,  _especially_  with so little control over your speed and strength. You could kill someone instead of saving them."

Bokuto pouted, leaning into his crossed arms – but Akaashi was right. They weren't in a comic book with villains to stop, so there was no need to be a hero. The real heroes were the people who were helping people, stopping fires, and bringing justice everyday… He was just an overly beefed zookeeper.

"I guess you're right…"

Akaashi glanced at him in the rear window and sighed, but didn't add anything.

They did more tests and even if Kuroo and Kenma were to check-up on him every few days or so, Koutarou's life became as ordinary as it could be once again.

Until people started disappearing. At first, no one noticed, but then an article in the Tokyo Newspaper mentioned the disappearance of many citizens. It had started little by little, but then more and more people disappeared. There was no link to between each of them, and the only common point was that  _every single disappearance_  left no clues for the police. How that journalist, who hadn't even shared his real name but called himself "The Moon", had heard about this case was a mystery.

The police force initially hoped it'd be overlooked, ignored, considered just lies or a silly invention, but the number of missing people was eventually enough that everyone knew it wasn't a lie. People were disappearing, and they had no way to know how, when, or what was happening.

" _We are doing everything in our power to investigate these mysterious disappearances,"_  The chief of the Miyagi Police Station announced one day in the news when the issue became more and more problematic,  _"We are asking everyone to remain calm and if any of your acquaintances leaves with no news for over twenty-four hours, you should report it to the police. If anyone sees or knows anything, their help will be gratefully received by our forces. Just like you… we are worried for our society, for our friends, and for our colleagues who have disappeared. We want this series of missing people to end, but we can't do it unless we all work together and trust each other."_

"He's your boss, right, Kuroo?" Bokuto asked as they watched the news in a café.

"Yeah… Sawamura Daichi," Kuroo answered with a dark expression on his face, "Two of our police officers have disappeared… the fiancé of one of our inspectors was the first one to disappear… He hasn't come to work ever since the list of missing people increased. I think he's looking for her…"

"Are there really no clues? Or is he saying that to cover it up?" Bokuto continued, making sure to keep his voice down to not be overheard by others.

Kuroo looked up at him, expression sombre. He looked strained, with dark marks under his eyes.

"For once… we're not trying to cover it up. There is absolutely nothing, no lead… We're at a loss. At this point… we can only collect more names to add to the list."

Bokuto looked down, glad that none of his friends or family had disappeared.

After the news of disappearances had come up, people started realising that some of their acquaintances had disappeared – they just hadn't checked on them in a while. In front of the town hall, and at every police station and hospital, there were boards covered with names and pictures of all the missing people – it became more covered up everyday.

As Bokuto accompanied Kuroo to the Miyagi Police Station for his afternoon shift before continuing towards the Ueno Zoo that reopened to the public once again, they walked past one of these boards. Kuroo stopped, staring at a picture.

"I know that guy…" He said, pointing at a picture of a smiley, good-hearted looking guy, "He was a senpai from university… Tsukishima… something? He had gotten a internship at NASA, in the USA. I think he had a little brother he kept gushing about… I hope his family is okay."

Kuroo continued walking, unfortunately used to the misery, especially the one brought by these disappearances.

Bokuto stared at the picture, and at all the others… then he clenched his fist tightly. He hadn't shared it with his friends yet because they had shut down the idea right away – but the more missing people that he saw, the more his heroic senses were tingling. But it was a job for the police… right?

The event that changed Koutarou's resolution happened two days later. The mayor started giving a speech in public, giving explanations without any real answer about the case of the missing people when a line of cars exploded. The crowd of journalists and reporters – and the many tv crews who were filming everything and airing it live – all cried out in shock.

The carbonized cars were smoking, a wall of fire raising from it – and a man walked out of the fire.

"What's going on?" Bokuto asked when he realised that his co-workers had fallen silent while watching tv.

No one said anything, mouths wide opened. He got closer and his eyes widened when he saw a man walk out of a wall of fire, and flames appeared all over his body.

" _LIES!"_  He shouted, a sudden zoom on his face.

He looked scorched, but he was walking normally, as if unfazed by the heat and the flames. The veins were glowing under his skin, looking like lava under the Earth, but he remained perfectly human-looking.

" _After the explosion a man has appeared and he seems… he seems to be on fire?!"_  The reporter said, looking a little scared.

" _Look what you did to me! You LIARS!"_  The man shouted once again.

He lifted up his hands and flames appeared.

" _He is making flames! He is controlling fire! What is going on?! Who is this man? Why… why does he have such powers?!"_

" _You did this to me!"_

He threw a ball of flames towards the stage and the crowd of journalists. It exploded and everyone shouted, taking cover and starting to run away. The police helped the mayor run away and out of view while the crowd of journalist teams and curious people ran away.

The camera shook wildly, apparently from running around in order to escape the flames. The reporter had ceased to try and explain what was happening. She was too panicked and running for her life, all the while keeping an eye over her shoulder to make sure the scene was being filmed and broadcasted.

Several policemen arrived, putting themselves behind opened car doors and they took out their guns. Indistinct orders were shouted, probably to convince the man to stop but he shook his head.

" _Bring me my life back!"_

He threw more fire at the policemen. Most jumped around and ran away as the cars exploded.

" _This is incredible, ladies and gentlemen!"_ The reporter continued from a safe viewpoint,  _"We are witnessing a… a crazy scene! A man who can control fire has appeared to set the mayor's public speech into absolutely chaos! The police is currently trying to contain him, but he is destroying everything around– AH!"_

Something exploded nearby. The camera shook, but they continued filming the scene.

" _I repeat! An aggressive man who has_ _ **fire powers**_ _has appeared! Is it linked to the meteor? To the missing people? Will a hero show up and save the day? Look!"_

The camera turned around, probably following what she had indicated and suddenly, military trucks arrived. They quickly surrounded the perimeter all around the man. He looked around, looking a little confused and scared before randomly sending fire balls to the military trucks. He managed to make two explode, forcing some soldiers to jump away and take covers but quickly, the rest of the soldiers acted and shot him.

" _Oh! He's been shot! The… the fire man was just shot by the soldiers who arrived!"_

One of the soldiers ran to the dangerous man as the wind spread more fire around. He made a sign to his colleagues after confirming the death of the man.

" _This is incredible, ladies and gentlemen! This is an event that will go down in history! A man with what appears to be fire powers showed up during a speech – a month and a half after an unexplainable meteor touched Japan! A man with superpowers! He was shot on sight by the army because of the danger, but our world… our world truly is changing! What a speech, ladies and gentlemen! You watched it live on Tokyo News!"_

The cameraman continued filming everything, the reporter occasionally commenting as the body was quickly carried away and the ads rolled.

For a few long seconds, silence resonated in the staff room of the Ueno Zoo.

"What… what is happening…?" Shirofuku murmured, eyes wide in panic and trembling in fear.

"Did we really just watch a villain attack?" Komi asked, just as shaken.

Koutarou frowned darkly, clenching his fists just as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He went outside the staff room and answered the call.

"Yeah, Akaashi?"

" _Did you see what just happened?"_

"…Yeah."

"… _Like we thought… there are more…"_

It wasn't much of a surprise, but there was a long silence to take in the reality.

" _I must go, don't get reckless, okay?"_  Akaashi said.

"Yeah…"

He ended the call and Koutarou swallowed hard, forcing himself to breath in order to not break another phone.

The world was changing, wasn't it?

" _Will a hero show up and save the day?"_

Koutarou returned to the staff room, convincing himself that he was just a normal guy… A normal guy with superpowers as dangerous as the one who had been shot by the army on national tv.

That 'villain' as he was labelled right away by journalists and reporters became world-wide news within a few hours. Panic ensued, everyone panicking because no one felt safe between the disappearances and now,  _villains_.

The mayor, then the Prime minister, and the army gave speeches to reassure the people, assuring them they were investigating on that 'anomaly' (the name of that man had never been shared, he was just a 'villain' or an 'anomaly' nothing else) to figure out what had happened. They never mentioned the meteor and always avoided answering questions that concerned the possible link between the events of the meteor night and the recent events.

Still, Bokuto tried to swallow back his heroic will. There were no more incidents regarding any 'hero', but the number of disappearances increased even more. It was so much that for the Miyagi Police Station and Kuroo's team, that villain accident was almost already forgotten – they were spending day and night trying to find any clues about the missing people.

Kuroo and his team of forensic scientists were trying to find chemical clues of sort for the missing persons cases, while Bokuto was being an everyday hero for the animals of the Ueno Zoo.

"How is that video analysis going?" Kuroo asked Kai when he came back from lunch.

"I think I've got something."

It was so surprising that Kuroo blinked and did a double-take, turning quickly towards his friend.

"Wait– what?"

"It's not much," the tech researcher said, "But look."

He showed him a video from a bank that was near one of the last disappearance sites – it was one of the rare missing people with circumstances that helped. Sort of. They knew she had gotten back home after work around six pm, had called her parents and her boyfriend respectively at seven thirty then nine fifteen. At ten pm, a neighbour went to ask her for some camomile tea, but she was gone. They knew she had disappeared between nine fifteen and ten with no witnesses on any way in or out of the building, no sound heard –  _nothing_.

"I don't see anything." Kuroo said.

It only showed the street with a view to the one and only entrance of the building where she lived.

Kai rewinded the recording and pointed at a corner of the video – where the time frame was showing the time going by.

"See that glitch on the screen?"

After another rewinding, Kuroo finally noticed it.

"It could be just dust on the screen, right?"

"That's what I initially thought, but look at the time. It shows nine thirty one, and then you think it goes to nine thirty two. But the screen actually freezes for two seconds – enough to show that tiny glitch. I think that the tape has been partially erased, then manipulated to make it seem as if nothing had gotten in or out of the building."

"And there's no way to know how much of the tape was erased… So, whoever is kidnapping these people is being extremely careful to erase every clue or trace of them."

"Kuroo, that level of technical control over so many disappearances is insane. It's not just being extremely careful – it's even  _beyond_  a professional job to be able to erase their existence in the exact moment and the exact location the disappearance occurs," Kai explained with a serious voice.

Kuroo frowned even more.

"I know Yakkun joked about it, but… I'm starting to think that it really  _is_  aliens who are kidnapping people…"

"Don't say that anywhere near Oikawa-san or he'll never shut up about it. I'm going to check other recordings to see if there are similar glitches that we might have missed."

"Yeah, do that, please…" He answered, patting his shoulder.

He probably shouldn't say anything to Sawamura until it was certain it could be a real evidence – and it actually didn't give any leads, only further proved how determined and effective the kidnappers were – but he couldn't miss the opportunity to give his boss and friend a little bit of hope.

He was on his way to the Superintendent's office, going through the big room full of desks and police officers, when he noticed two people.

"Iwaizumi! Oikawa!" He called, approaching them, "How are you doing?" He asked, staring at the inspector.

"…I'm fine." He answered with a tight smile.

 _No, you're not_ , was everyone's silent thought.

"You're back to work then?"

"Yeah, starting today… No reason to walk around in circles when I could be useful here…" He said, glancing around and at the board covered in pictures of missing people – his fiancée had been the first one.

Before Kuroo could ask anything else, the usual buzzing sound was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a group of people. A few police officers shut up, and little by little the whole room turned to stare at the group of uniforms standing in the doorway. Kuroo gaped as, without a single hesitation, walking with strong steps resonating with absolute confidence, the group of soldiers advanced without a glance at the police officers around.

"Who are these guys…?" He whispered, confused.

"That guy… he's the Major Ushijima," Oikawa said, glaring at the leader, "He was there that night."

Kuroo glanced at him, wondering what exactly he was referring to, but Iwaizumi seemed to know very well as he didn't seem that surprised. He looked back at the group of soldiers.

'Soldiers' might be an understatement though, because they all wore high ranking uniforms. They were ones that Kuroo had never seen though, and considering the way most of his colleagues (who knew uniforms better than him) were reacting, so did they. It was dark purple, almost black, with golden and white details.

Shimizu, who was passing by, frowned and went to confront them. The biggest and most impressive one, the leader of the group, stopped in front of her.

"I'm Major General Ushijima," He declared with a deep voice.

"Major," Shimizu greeted him, going to salute.

The Major and his team seemed surprised. Shimizu was in the army before switching to the police, but Kuroo never knew why she had decided to change. But that glint in their eyes of slight surprise was quickly erased.

"I belong to a newly founded sub-division of the Japanese army. I am now in charge of missing people case and will be taking this police station as our new headquarters."

Shimizu opened and closed her mouth, and finally, curious and stunned whispers started to resonate all around.

"Can I be of any help to you?" Sawamura asked, walking out of his office when he had heard the absolute silence. He was frowning and seemed wary of the new arrivals.

The Major nodded gravely in his direction and Sawamura gave a nod to Shimizu.

"Back to work, everyone!" She ordered as the Major followed Sawamura into his office to talk. The Major's team didn't move though.

They stood there, watching the police officers like hawks, as everyone pretended to go back to work, but they were just curiously eyeing this new army division. Kuroo didn't even bother returning to his lab as Yakkun, Akane, and Kai were all here, having felt the stranger atmosphere from in the lab.

"What's going on? Who are these guys?" Yaku asked, frowning lightly.

"No idea, the army apparently. They're taking over our police station."

"They can do that?" Akane asked, frowning in annoyance.

"It's the army. I'm sure they can do anything they want…" Kai answered.

"They're unnerving… especially that red-haired guy who looks like he's enjoying himself…" Yakkun said.

As if on cue, said redhead casually glanced in their direction, his grin becoming wider as he nodded to salute them.

"He didn't hear us, right? There's no way?" Akane said.

"…Go back to the lab, guys. We've got work to do. I'll stay around to talk to Sawamura."

They obeyed without being told twice and Kuroo crossed the room to join Shimizu, certain he wouldn't be heard by the red weirdo.

"Hey, you knew about this?" He asked.

She glanced very quickly at them, before turning back towards him, lips pursed together.

"Not at all. But they really are the army. I've never seen this uniform before though."

"Some sort of special forces?"

She opened her lips to answer just as the Superintendent's office door opened. At once all the police officers turned to listen, proof that they hadn't really been working or Sawamura would have had to scream at least twice to get everyone's attention (if he screamed three times then they were putting him in a  _very_  bad mood).

"Everyone, I need your attention!" He started, not looking very cheerful with Major Ushijima at his side.

They could have heard a fly buzzing from how silent it had become. Kuroo and Shimizu were certain they had never seen the police station so quiet before.

"This is Major General Ushijima from the Shiratorizawa Special Forces, a new division of the Japanese army that was recently created to deal with recent events. They are here to help us with the investigation concerning the missing people… please share with them everything you have and don't hide anything…" Sawamura explained.

No one seemed pleased by it, especially when the Major stepped in front of Sawamura and spoke up.

"I expect order and cooperation from you all. Your priority right now is to share with us everything that you have gathered on the missing people. That is all."

Nobody reacted, staring defiantly at the group of soldiers. The Major frowned lightly when he wasn't met with "cooperation" from the Miyagi Police Station. But before anything happened, Sawamura stepped forward.

"The Shiratorizawa Special Forces will make a copy of all of your files. Don't hide anything. That is all," He declared.

The police station reluctantly moved and started gathering their various files just as Sawamura returned to his office, followed closely by Shimizu. Kuroo noticed that Oikawa had discreetly disappeared. A quick nod from Ushijima to his team and they all moved at once, going to the different offices and desks, in order to gather what was due to them. Kuroo followed the one who went towards the lab.

"My men will gather the information and tests you have done on the missing people case," he announced as he entered the lab.

"Excuse you? Who do you think you are?!" Yaku exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest.

The Shiratorizawa Special Forces man looked down at him, unimpressed as his men just spread around the labs and used USB drives to collect everything they needed.

"Captain Shirabu Kenjirou of the Shiratorizawa Special Forces is who I think I am,  _shrimp_."

Yaku's eyes widened, and his mouth opened, a wave of insults about to come out when Kuroo intervened.

"Oi, Captain whatever – respect my team, okay? You and your group of tight-assed friends might be ranked, but if  _we_  must cooperate with you, so should  _you_. Don't insult anyone, even if they are shorter than the average person."

"OI!" Yakkun exclaimed.

" _I_  am the only one allowed to insult my team of kittens, got it,  _Captain Shrimp?"_  Kuroo said, looking down and towering over the soldier.

Shirabu frowned, having to look up to glare at him properly and his fifteen more centimetres. He quickly snorted and forced Kuroo to step away.

"As soon as you've gathered all the intel, let's get to work!" He ordered his team.

"Yes, sir!"

In just a few minutes, everything that the police station had worked on for the last few weeks had been gathered by the Shiratorizawa Special Force and they moved into some part of the building that was now their self-proclaimed headquarters. Kuroo quickly went to see Sawamura, entering his office without even knocking.

"Oi? What the fuck is this about?" He asked without bothering to use any filter.

Sawamura sighed deeply, leaning against his chair. Then he pointed at a paper on his desk.

"Read for yourself."

Kuroo took the paper and quickly read what it was about – an official assignment for the Miyagi Police Station under the direction of Major General Ushijima to investigate on the missing people case, now considered a  _"critical public safety investigation"._  The Police station and army have to cooperate in order to find answers. This assignment had been signed by General Washijou, the Minister of Defense  _and_  the Prime Minister themselves.

"So we can do nothing, but shut up and obey?" Kuroo concluded bitterly.

"It's for the greater good," Sawamura sighed, "If it can help us find these people, then…"

"Army or not, if there are no clues found at the crime scenes, then there are  _no clues!"_

"It's going to reassure the civilian population knowing that the army is now in charge."

"But–"

"Kuroo! Don't think that it pleases me to have to obey to that stick-up the ass Major!"

Kuroo froze, blinking as Sawamura sighed and passed a hand over his face.

"Did you just say 'stick-up the ass'? Is that even in your vocabulary?" He asked.

Daichi glared at him for his bad-timed joke, but it was enough to lighten up the mood and help them relax, at least a little.

"Let's just go with the flow for now… and see how it goes."

"…Your orders, chief," Kuroo complied with a half-hearted shrug, "But they're  _forbidden_  to do as they please in MY lab!" He exclaimed, pointing his finger at the Superintendent.

"I'm sure you'll make them understand that soon enough," he answered with a lazy smile.

Kuroo liked to believe he already did with that Shirabu guy. But he also knew that this Super Division was so up in their tower of absolute power that they wouldn't care.

The first few days that followed the appearance of the Shiratorizawa Special Forces, they mostly settled in their new headquarters, going back and forth. The public announcement of the involvement of the army in that investigation  _did_  help the moral of the civilian population who seemed a lot more relaxed and reassured than before. It greatly annoyed the entire police station. The Special Forces then started reviewing every single file and clue they had found to make sure nothing had been missed, only to declare a few days later that they hadn't found anything new and the police had done a good job. It annoyed them even more.

"I want to help," Bokuto declared someday during his weekly check-up at the research facility.

"The only thing you can do to help is to lie down and let me take a sample of your blood," Kuroo said without blinking an eye.

"I mean! The world! I want to do something! To help people everyday, and not by becoming a fireman or whatever! I feel… I feel that something is coming and with all these people disappearing, what if I could stop it?"

"…Are you back on that hero talk?" Kuroo asked, glancing over his shoulders.

No Akaashi nor Kenma in view. The only two who could actually talk Bokuto back into reason.

"Well, yeah! Everyday, I help out people! I saved a cat today, and yesterday, I carried someone who had fallen and broken their ankle. They couldn't believe I could carry them so easily over such a great distance! And I told you about that car accident?"

"Bokuto, look…"

"If I had been there that day the villain attacked, I'm sure I could have done something to help!"

"Bokuto!" Kuroo exclaimed, "Stick to saving cats and old people crossing the streets, okay? The  _army_  is taking care of these villains and missing people! Leave it to them!"

"You're the one who said they were a bunch of arrogant and incompetent bastards!"

" _Yeah_ , but don't use my own lines against me, okay?"

"Do you really think you could help in any way?"

They turned around to see Kenma standing in the doorway, holding his tablet. He stared right at Bokuto who sat up.

"I do! I can feel it! I could… I could do something grand! With the powers that I got… it must mean something, right? You understand, don't you? If we got these powers, then maybe it's to do something with them!"

Kenma hesitated, just as Akaashi showed up as well. He had obviously heard and wasn't pleased with it.

"Bokuto-san, you cannot be serious. Look at what the other guy who had gotten powers did. He hurt people!"

"I wouldn't hurt anyone! I would save people!"

"I don't think it was his intention to hurt anyone either, and yet–"

"You're just trying to control me, but I want to help people! That's why I got these powers, I'm sure of it!"

"You're going to kill yourself!" Akaashi exclaimed, looking really angry, and worried, "If you want to be a hero, then it means you'll be up against people with the same powers as you. You might get hurt, or  _worst!_  And I won't encourage my best friend to sacrifice himself because of some… some urge of righteousness that you've started imagining!"

Bokuto stared at him, annoyed but understanding his point of view… He still turned hopefully towards Kuroo, but he put his hand through his messy hair.

"Look… this bunch of arrogant soldiers are  _on_  the case… and I know I said they were incompetent, but I think they'd be  _very_  effective in eliminating a potential threat, which you… kinda are… I'd rather have you keep a low profile, Bokuto. Who knows what these guys might do to you if they find out about your powers…"

"Kenma…" He continued, turning towards his last hope.

Kenma went from one foot to another, looking conflicted as all three stared at him with intense gazes…

"I-I don't know, Bokuto… Like Kuroo said, we're in danger if the army goes after us. Playing superhero isn't exactly discreet… I don't want my friend to be arrested, or hurt… or worst."

"But we're still huma–"

Bokuto looked down, clenching his fists. Using the term 'human' when they had received some sort of superpowers didn't feel right, it felt even less right when his friends themselves were using the terms 'mutated DNA' or 'mutant' and on tv he kept hearing 'anomaly'…

"We're still part of this world… if we don't help the people who need us, who will?" Bokuto asked with a firm expression on his face.

Kuroo glanced at Kenma and Akaashi. The first one looked away and the second kept a closed expression. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Bokuto stood up and left angrily.

"…He's not completely wrong, y'know…" Kenma said, "That 'villain'… what he screamed… it was a cry for help, not a need for destruction…"

"And he was killed on  _sight_ ," Akaashi said firmly, "Don't encourage him on this path, Kozume-san. He can't be a hero just because of his willpower."

"Shouldn't you know how stubborn he is? He always gets his way, thanks to his  _willpower_." Kuroo said.

"And his stubbornness often becomes recklessness, which  _you_  encouraged a few too many times without  _ever_  dealing with the consequences, Kuroo-san! If he becomes a hero of sort, none of us will be on the frontlines and  _he_ will risk his life! And he doesn't understand that…!"

Angry as well, Akaashi turned away and left.

Bokuto stopped talking about being a hero, so they thought he had moved on from this decision. Of course, yet again, they had underestimated Bokuto's stubbornness, but he didn't look for danger, not really. He just started walking around town, helping out whenever he could however way. Because he was answering his phone less and less, that worried Akaashi, while Kenma and Kuroo were both too busy with their respective jobs to be able to look out for their wannabe-hero friend.

"Look, I know I said I'd call two days ago, grandma, but I'm busy at work," Kuroo said as he closed his lab.

The night had already fallen and his entire team had been dismissed hours ago, but like always, he stayed behind. Except the reduced night team, there was no one else in the building and it was eerily quiet, so different from the buzzing atmosphere during the day.

"Yeah, yeah, it's this whole missing people case… I can't tell you about it, grandma– yeah, I'm safe! I'm just handling chemicals anyway!"

There was a moment of pause as he saluted the night team, leaving the building and getting hit by the fresh autumn air.

"Chemicals are  _fine_ , grandma. They're not  _all_  radioactive. It's not dangerous, it's my job, y'know?"

She carried on, worrying for his safety, and he let her talk while looking for his keys in his bag. Balancing his bag on his knee and keeping his phone against his ear while taking out his keys led to him dropping them. He bent down to retrieve them just as a military truck a few meters away blinded him by turning on the lights.

With the Shiratorizawa Special Forces in their Police Station, it wasn't surprising to see military trucks, but it was the fact that the truck was suddenly moving  _was_. He stood up just as a bunch of soldiers ran out from a side street and climbed into the truck. They were wearing night outfits and helmets, and carrying weapons that seemed awfully effective and dangerous.

"Grandma, I gotta go," he said when he saw the trucks start and drive away  _fast_.

He didn't let her finish and ended the call. He quickly put on his helmet and climbed on his motorbike, following the series of trucks from afar.

A few blocks away from there, Koutarou was finishing his nightly tour with nothing happening when he heard people talk vividly while leaving a small restaurant.

"Did you see all these trucks from the army?"

"Yes, it's scary… Maybe it's because of what we saw on the news? That building that started collapsing after a gas explosion?"

"What if it's a villain like the other day?"

Koutarou's heart missed a beat and he jumped towards the two girls, grabbing the shoulder of the closest one.

"Where is it? What is happening?!" He exclaimed, scaring them a little.

"U-um, a gas explosion made a building start to collapse… The firemen are currently helping everyone–" She started explaining.

"It's in that direction," the other pointed out.

"Thanks!"

He started running over there, but he didn't watch out as he crossed the street and almost got run over by some crazy motorbike driver.

"Hey! Watch out, you– Bokuto?!"

The motorbike driver pushed his helmet faceguard off and glared at his friend.

"Kuroo?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm– I just got out of work!"

"Your flat is in the other direction– hey! Drive me over there!" Bokuto ordered, pointing in the direction Kuroo had been going to and already taking the second helmet he knew was hidden in the back box, then he climbed behind him.

"What the–"

Before Kuroo could finish his sentence, two more military trucks went past them full speed.

"Perfect! Follow these trucks!" Bokuto ordered.

"…If it's your hero-thing again…!" Kuroo hissed, glaring at him from over his shoulder, but reaching for the engine starters.

"If you disagree with me so much, why are you here pursuing these trucks, uh?" Bokuto said with a knowing smirk.

Kuroo pouted in annoyance just as Bokuto pushed down his faceguard. Kuroo started driving behind the trucks, following them from a distance. They quickly arrived at the scene of the accident – military trucks, two police cars, fire engines, an ambulance, and even journalists were there.

"Looks like we're a little late for the show," Kuroo commented as they took off their helmets and climbed off the motorbike.

"What happened?" Bokuto asked to a passerby who was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

"We don't know. They say it's a gas explosion and that the building is about to collapse," he answered.

Bokuto and Kuroo watched from afar as the soldiers – some from the Shiratorizawa squad – gave orders to police officers and firemen who all started backing away while the security perimeter was expanded.

They got closer, Kuroo bumping into a wide-eyed child who had weird orange hair. He blinked but continued, following Bokuto.

The building was a three-story apartment complex, an old building, and many families and people were at the windows screaming for help. The walls of the entire first floor were cracked horizontally, as if a giant sword had tried cutting it. Some fire and smoke were escaping from windows. The right side of the building had started tearing itself off and collapsing on the side. Even from a distance, they could hear the walls and windows creaking under the pressure. That was why the firemen were stuck outside: they couldn't risk sending a team in that might provoke more damage.

"Gas explosion don't break walls like that," Kuroo commented in a low voice.

Bokuto glanced at him just as, with the soldiers' help, the firemen started putting up ladders to let the people in the upper floors escape, but it was dangerous as the building was becoming more and more fragile as the minutes went by. Several people couldn't be helped right away because of the flames coming from beneath the windows. From the screams, the inside of the building had gone through severe damage too. Some floors or ceilings had collapsed, some for walls or doors, blocking people in their apartments.

More firemen started trying to stop the flames with their water sprays while metallic bars were brought to try to stabilise the side of the building that was the most damaged.

Suddenly, another explosion on the first floor resonated. More flames surged forward, and the firemen were all projected backwards from the power of the explosion. The ladder that was up shook violently and the fireman on top of it lost his balance – he had been trying to help a child out. The fireman pushed the child upwards, back towards his mother just as the ladder started falling. The child shrieked, hanging from his mother's arms just as the fireman fell down the three floors.

The crowd that was watching screamed as his colleagues went to help him.

" _That_  was a gas explosion," Kuroo said, "Whatever happened must have put the gas pipes under too much pressure and they're going to explode one by one. That last explosion probably destabilized the structure of the build–"

As if on cue, the building started collapsing and its inhabitants shouted and screamed. The mother who was holding her child lost her grip and everyone watched him fall towards the ground. They held their breath, but the impact never came. Some yellow and orange arrow went by and caught the child. No one had time to react or see anything as the orange arrow brought the child into the arms of the closets fireman. Everyone looked around, but the saviour had disappeared.

"You haven't developed superspeed, have you?" Kuroo asked Bokuto who, he believed, had remained at his sides.

"U-uh, that wasn't me."

"Then…"

They glanced at each other just as the building continued collapsing, creaking, and breaking.

"We need to do something!" Bokuto exclaimed, "I'm fast and strong. I could help out by holding it all up while the firemen or someone takes the people out!"

"Bokuto, no!" Kuroo called, grabbing his arm.

"People are going to  _die!"_  He exclaimed, pulling his arm away.

Kuroo opened and closed his lips. Determined, Bokuto turned around to run towards the scene, but someone stopped him with an arm against his chest.

"Akaashi!" He exclaimed, eyes widening.

"I knew you'd come here when I saw it on the news." He mumbled, pushing Bokuto backwards with enough strength that he almost wavered and let his friend push him back, "You incredible idiot!"

"Akaasghii! Don't stop me now!"

"There is the army and cameras  _everywhere_ , Bokuto!" Akaashi hissed as soon as they were in enough distance from the crowd, "If your face is seen and you show your powers, you'll be hunted down! You'll be in danger – and so will  _all_  of us!" He continued, glancing heavily at Kuroo.

Bokuto tightened his jaw just as more people screamed in the distance.

"It's too dangerous–"

Akaashi's voice was smothered by the sound of a side of the building collapsing. Everyone turned around, seeing the terrible vision. People were hanging from the side of the building. The soldiers and firemen who weren't injured got closer to try and help, but the flames were right under the people who were about to fall down. More screams came from the other side of the building as it started collapsing as well.

"It's falling apart…!" Kuroo whispered.

The shock fading, Akaashi turned around.

"Bokuto-san, you–"

He froze when he noticed his friend gone. Kuroo turned around as well and they looked around just as surprised screams came from the crowd. They turned back and saw Bokuto, wearing the helmet running straight towards the building.

"You can't go in there!" A soldier ordered, trying to stop him but he was pushed away.

"That's my helmet!" Kuroo exclaimed.

"That's our  _idiot!"_  Akaashi hissed.

The two ran as close as possible to try to see what was going on.

Bokuto ran shoulder first into the main door and it exploded, disappearing into smoke and fire. He almost fell over from the amount of fragments laying all around. There was a main staircase in front of him and a series of apartments on either side of him. The walls on the inside were completely broken, all the foundation walls were torn apart. It was a miracle the building hadn't already collapsed on itself! There was fire and the horrible smell of burning flesh coming from every apartment…

Koutarou grimaced and turned away, knowing there was nothing he could do for these burning apartments. A sob attracted his attention and he saw a young girl, a few years younger than him. She was sitting on the floor, sobbing and clasping her hands against the sides of her head. Everything around her was intact.

"Hey! I'm here! I'm gonna help you!" He exclaimed, running towards her.

She looked up, frightened and panicked, and immediately, rays of light shone all around her. Koutarou froze as it got brighter and more chaotic, flowing all around her. It looked like energy charging and–

He jumped to the ground when it exploded from her and tore apart the walls and ceilings. He covered his head when he heard some more explosions and screams above.

That was what had happened: this girl's power, releasing sudden blasts of energy, must have destroyed the building.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She shouted, sobbing more, "Don't touch me! Please, don't touch me!"

Bokuto stood up against, shaking off the dust and fragments from his body. He winced, reaching for his left shoulder where some of the blast had brushed him. It was bleeding and burnt, but he approached the girl slowly.

"I won't, but I'm here to help! I'm going to get the people upstairs out of here, then I'll be back for you, okay?" He said.

She stared at him, more tears falling from her eyes. He walked around her and ran upstairs despite the sorry state it was in. He had to jump over a few missing steps, but quickly reached the first floor. He looked around. On his right, the building was falling apart, clearly needing more attention.

He ran over there, jumping over the bits of walls and furniture. A scream attracted his attention and he saw the mother from earlier, holding two more children against her while two men were trying to hold up two other people who were hanging from what was left of the floor. One of the men was slipping and he fell over, both people about to end up in the flames from the first floor when Bokuto arrived, grabbing the man's arm.

"Hold on!" He screamed.

He started lifting them up with ease, seeing nothing but the flames under them. The floor from which he was hanging was starting to creak and bits were falling down. He was about to lift them up when the ground under the other man broke. Koutarou's second arm shot out and he grabbed him. He was now holding all four people. The weight wasn't bothering him, but the sweat from his palms was making it hard to keep a tight grip on them, and the floor was starting to bend over right from under him.

"Hold on!"

He used all the muscles from his legs and torso to straighten up, slowly lifting the people up. He looked over his shoulder at the mother and her two children when suddenly, the orange arrow from earlier came like a swoosh and a moment later the mother and the children were gone. He looked around in panic and saw them near the firemen.

"HEY! THE ARROW GUY!" He shouted, hoping he'll be heard over the commotion, "CATCH!"

He swung back and forth the people he was holding from his left arm, they started shouting in panic and then, he let go, using his speed and strength. They flew over the flames and right towards the ground – they never met it because the orange arrow jumped to catch them both and helped them land on the ground. He never stopped running, or whatever he was doing that gave him such speed. If he didn't stop, it probably meant he had no way to hide his identity like  _he_  had done by putting on the helmet.

"ONCE MORE, ARROW GUY!" He repeated, taking with both hands the two people.

They knew what was about to happen, so they didn't squirm and scream as much as the two others, but it still was the most frightening moment of their lives when they flew over the flames and were caught by a literal orange arrow and put down on the ground.

Koutarou grinned, straightening up. The floor broke under him and he had just enough time to grab onto the reinforced concrete as he heard everyone's panicked screams. He could feel the skin of his palm being scraped away by the concrete. Once sure the floor wouldn't break anymore, he eased himself up and quickly walked away from the chasm. People cheered, but he didn't stop, running into the hall once again. He saw the orange arrow go by and get the people from the other apartment. Koutarou broke down the fragments of wall and helped out the last few people from this floor who were taken away by Arrow Guy.

He started climbing up the stairs for the third and last floor, but he heard a creak. He looked down and jumped just as the stairs fell from under him. The Arrow Guy went and stopped at the second floor, looking up at him. There was too much height and not enough space for a run-up to reach him.

"You're just a  _kid!_  Go home!" Koutarou shouted when he saw how young he was.

"You need help!"

"I'll–"

Blasts of pure energy tore apart the building once again. Both Koutarou and the kid crouched down to avoid both the energy and the falling fragments of the building. More of the foundation walls had been hit and everything was about to collapse.

"Go away! NOW!" Koutarou shouted before running to help the last people.

He didn't know if he listened to him, but he quickly found a group of five people gathered in the last apartment that wasn't completely burnt or destroyed.

"Is everyone here?" He asked.

"Yes, we gathered together when we saw everything fall apart!" A man answered, holding tightly his wife and child.

Koutarou turned around, looking at whatever he might use to help all these people. He saw a collapsed wardrobe and big bed sheets coming out of it, miraculously not burnt. He grabbed one and saw that it was several meters large.

The building started shaking and a wall crumbled down. It was getting hard to keep his footing.

"Okay! We're gonna improvise!" He exclaimed.

He turned around, towards what was the façade wall. It wasn't any more solid than the rest, already damaged. He ran over and using all his power, he punched it. Half of it exploded, fragments falling into the streets. He gave another punch and quickly, several meters of the wall was gone. He looked down and measured up the height from what he could remember. He threw the big sheet down in the street and saw the people stare at him in awe instead of moving.

"HEY! LOOK AT WHAT I JUST THREW FOR YOU! DO  _SOMETHING!"_  He exclaimed.

The orange arrow guy flew by, using the sheet and throwing it up in the air so people could see the big square floating for a little while. It finally seemed to flicker the idea he had in mind. The firemen and soldiers took corners of the sheet, spreading it as much as they could so it would make a landing spot.

"I hope I have a super throwing precision too…" He muttered to himself, "Everyone! Trust me, okay?" He said, turning towards the five people.

They seemed hesitant, but the little boy was the first one to come forward, pulling his parents with him.

"Are you gonna save us?" He asked despite the sobs strangling him.

"Y-yeah, yeah! I'm gonna save you!" Bokuto said with a determined nod.

"Me first," his father said.

"No, no!" His wife exclaimed, trying to hold him back.

"I'm the heaviest, if it works for me, it'll work for everyone," he said.

He kissed her forehead despite the sobs as she kept their son in her arms. The father turned towards Bokuto, with a sharp nod.

"Have you ever done this before?" He asked in a low voice as they approached the edge of the building.

"Have  _you?"_

He chuckled nervously as answer. Koutarou lifted him up with ease. He took a few steps backwards for momentum, then ran forward. The man screamed as he flew in the air and towards the sheet. It fell down when he landed, but thanks to the effectiveness of the firemen and soldiers, he wasn't dead.

"Okay! Next one!"

He threw a few other people who were all caught by the helpful team down there.

"You're our hero!" The little boy said when he took him in his arms.

Koutarou's heart filled with warmth. Saving these people was what he was meant to do with this power, he knew it now.

He was about to leave himself, hoping he had a super shock absorption power too, when more energy blasts tore the building apart. Everything shook and he remembered the girl three floors under. He heard a scream of pain and he realised that there was one more person.

"Help…! Please,  _help!"_

He punched the remnants of the wall that was keeping him away from this person and saw a woman, half buried under a shelf.

"I've always disliked reading books!" He exclaimed, lifting up the shelf and helping her up, but one of her legs was broken.

He carried her into the hall, but he couldn't throw her off like the others. The floor under him was breaking. He ran to what was left of the stairs and jumped down the several meters separating him from the second floor, the woman still in his arms. He started running down the other stairs but a blast of energy almost decapitated him. The woman screamed while the girl sobbed.

"I'll be back for you in a minute!" He said.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

He carried the injured woman over the threshold, everyone applauding and cheering for him while a soldier came to pick the woman from his arms. Then, everyone screamed once again when he ran back inside.

"Wait! NO!"

"Come back!"

He ran to the girl, kneeling next to her – more energy was about to explode from her. He tried to take her in his arms, but it made things worse. The energy shot from her and projected him into the nearest wall. He broke through it and with a growl, managed to get away from the painful bits of wall and the fire that was about to devour him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Can't you control it?!" He asked, kneeling in front of her and not touching anything near her.

She shook her head no, trying to breathe through her panic attack, but it was useless.

"Everyone is out of the building, everyone is safe! Can you get up?" He asked, half worried of what would happen if she moved.

She looked up before a gasp of pain escape her. She winced as more energy rays shone all around her.

"Just breath! You can control it! I know you can!" He exclaimed, "Think… think of… of your happiest memory! Think only of it and breathe!"

He didn't know if she was still hearing him, but she breathed in and out deeply and slowly, following his lead… her breathing calmed down… so did her shaking and the energy rays lowered in intensity. The light became less intense and he knew that she was starting to be able to control whatever power was running through her.

"Great! That's great!" He exclaimed.

She smiled hesitantly, the light continuing to diminish.

But then, the building cracked. They looked up and in panic, she let out the blast of energy that tore the ceiling about to collapse on them. The ceiling exploded and flew all around, but it was the last bit of damage the building could handle. The walls started crumbling.

"WATCH OUT!"

Koutarou wasn't sure if that scream came from him or the girl, or both, but suddenly, it all went down.

Outside the building, everyone screamed when they saw everything collapse on itself, burying their hero.

Kuroo gasped and froze, his heart thundering in his chest. He had watched everything that had unfolded in just two minutes tops, and now… now his friend was… he was–

The dust went down and people sobbed and shook.

"W-we just witnessed the collapse of that building, burying… burying the helmet hero who had saved everyone in the building…" A nearby journalist reported, voice tight, "He showed a lot of strength, literally, and today's accident proved furthermore that the incident from the Mayor's speech wasn't a unique 'anomaly,' but a real villain – another one must have caused this building to collapse and today's heroes have–"

"Look!"

Kuroo, and everyone, turned back towards the remnants of the building. The smoke was disappearing, but the house was still moving.  _No_ – in the centre of it all, where most of the fragments had fallen, it was  _being moved_. It was being pushed off, everyone held their breath. Then, he appeared, in the middle of the fire and the rests of the building, he rose like a true hero, like a phoenix out of the ashes.

"He's alive!"

"He made it!"

Everyone cheered once again as their anonymous hero rose, pushing away the heavy remains of the building that had fallen on top of him. He pushed off one last section of wall and he revealed a curled up girl. He had protected her by covering her with his body and despite the torn and burnt clothes, he seemed fine. He was still standing. He had made it alive!

An ecstatic, relieved laugh escaped Kuroo and he realised that Akaashi wasn't around. He looked for him just as Bokuto was lifting another section of wall, with more difficulty as it was heavier.

"G-go! Run! Get away from here!" He ordered the girl through gritted teeth.

She still had energy rays all around her, but she had been fine. She could control some of it now, she stared up at him, relieved tears in her eyes. She stood up and ran away from the rests of the house. He let the section of wall fall from his shoulders and followed her as quickly as he could when his entire body burned and ached.

The girl looked down at her hands, illuminated by blasts of light.

"She did it! She's the one who did it!"

"She's the villain!"

She looked up and froze, frightened. She stepped backwards just as Bokuto reached the crowd. He opened his lips to speak up, but her panic made the blasts of energy spark up.

"She's dangerous!"

"N-no… I'm sorry… I'm–"

She held up her hands in defence when a gunshot resonated. She gasped and fell backwards, right into Koutarou's arms who caught her. Everyone screamed then silence reigned.

He looked down at her as she gasped for air, her eyes wide and fearful, her chest getting redder and redder as blood seeped into her t-shirt.

"I-I'm sorry…!" She gasped.

More tears fell from her eyes as her body went limp…

Koutarou stared at her, eyes wide and burning with tears. He looked up, but he couldn't see who had fired the gun, only a bunch of soldiers running forwards, weapons at the ready.

"Don't move!"

"Stay where you are!"

Their orders resonated in his head, and suddenly, he felt something against his helmet. It woke him up and reality caught up to him, along with the sudden fear of being stared at by guns and soldiers ready to kill him at the slightest move. He almost fell over and saw a rock bounce. It hadn't come from the soldiers who were surrounding him slowly, guns at the ready.

He looked up and noticed who had thrown the rock to wake him up from his trance. A man had climbed over a journalist truck and threw him that rock. He was wearing a helmet, but he recognized the man's clothes and figure just as he jumped down and disappeared once again in the crowd.

_Akaashi!_

Koutarou looked around him as he let down the girl's body on the ground.

"Don't move!" A soldier shouted.

"At ease, soldier! There are cameras everywhere, don't make any more of a mess than it already is!"

The voice came from behind, they all hesitated. Koutarou didn't stay there to find out if he was in danger. He stood up and pushed away the closest soldier who flew over the ground. Koutarou ran straight towards the crowd – they didn't dare shoot thank goodness. People screamed and cheered just as he ran as fast as possible and jumped as high as possible. He jumped over the crowd and landed on the concrete, rolling over then standing up once again despite the pain in his legs and arms.

"Catch him!"

"Don't let him go!" the soldiers shouted.

But with the crowd blocking them, by the time they had arrived at the other side, Koutarou had gotten away through too many narrow streets to be found.

He caught his breath behind a trash dump in a street, still hearing the distant sounds of the event. He was freezing now that he wasn't in the middle of a fire, his entire body was shaking as he looked down at his hands, black from ashes, blood and dust.

She had died in his arms – he had promised to save her… and she had died in his arms…! They had shot her without hesitation, just because she had some superpowers, like him… He had escaped miraculously and that was… being shot on sight – that was the future that awaited him, and all the other people like him.

A sudden honking made him jump and he looked up, seeing Kuroo on his motorbike.

"Hurry! They're right behind!" He shouted.

Koutarou ran to him, climbing behind him as he drove off right away. They quickly escaped through narrow streets and once they were certain there were no military vehicles following them, they stopped, breathing hard. It didn't take long for Akaashi's car to come up to them. Without a word, Kuroo put the safety on his motorbike and both climbed into Akaashi's car as he drove across the city and towards the research facility.

Akaashi had wanted to scold his friend for what he had done, but after seeing the state he was in, he didn't have the heart to do so, so they drove in silence. When they arrived, Kenma was here, on his computer.

"I've hacked into the city's video surveillance tapes to erase your escape. Your motorbike is everywhere, Kuroo, you stupid cat!" He mumbled in annoyance.

"…Thanks…"

"Is everyone safe? I didn't see the end because I was driving here as quickly as I could," he continued.

Koutarou took off the helmet for the first time, his face and hair surprisingly free of any dust or ash. He was just sweaty and his eyes were burning.

"Not everyone."

Kenma looked up at him, lips thin. Everyone looked down, thinking back on the girl who had been so openly shot.

"When I first entered the building… it smelled…"

He swallowed hard. He could never forget the smell of burning corpses. It wasn't like meat at a barbecue. It was a distinct,  _human_  smell and it made him sick just thinking back on it.

"I-I tried to help as many as I could…"

"You saved everyone else in the building, Bokuto, that was… amazing… I'm gonna have white hair too,  _but_  that was amazing," Kuroo said.

"But that girl…"

His voice broke and Akaashi finally spoke up, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Was a victim, from people who were afraid of what she– what people like  _you_  can do. There was nothing you could have done to help her… You did everything you could…"

"…You might wanna see what people are saying on the tv and internet…" Kenma said.

Bokuto opened his lips, but he was already turning on the giant screen that was in front of everyone.

" _What happened today is going to be as historical as that villain attack on the day of the Mayor's speech!"_  The journalist said, still on the scene where the building had collapsed,  _"Not only had a superpowered villain attacked this building, filled with families and innocents, but two heroes have appeared to save them when it became impossible for the firemen and the army to do anything! One man with super strength and one with super speed – they saved all the people who were left in this building before it collapsed!"_

They showed pictures of the heroic deeds, of all the people who had been saved and who were receiving help. Everyone was burnt and scratched or bruised, but they were safe and sound.

" _He is my new favourite superhero! He saved me and everyone else! He was so cool!"_  The little boy exclaimed, jumping up and down despite the exhaustion and earlier fear.

" _Despite this tragic event, we have witnessed the birth of our heroes!"_  The reporter concluded with a bright smile.

Koutarou looked down at his hands, burnt and scratched – but they had saved all these people. He didn't want to see another person hurt, because of a villain, or unfairness. He'll never let another person die.

He turned back towards his friends, Kuroo and Akaashi smiling while Kenma was trying to look as annoyed as he possibly could.

"So… what next, hero?" Akaashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…You're not trying to stop me?" Bokuto asked him with a smile.

"You're too stubborn to listen anyway. The best we can do is make sure you don't kill yourself in the process," He answered with an exasperated sigh.

"So… you're with me?"

"No choice. That's what friends do, right?" Kuroo said with a smirk.

They turned towards Kenma who sighed and jumped down his chair.

"I'm gonna make more coffee…"

Koutarou grinned, then he glanced back at the tv that kept showing his heroic deeds. He clenched his fists in determination. From now on, he'd be the hero people needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!
> 
> I'll post next chapter as soon as possible! ;)
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	5. Her Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the new chapter! Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited! :D

 FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER V : Her Hero

" _Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, it doesn't mean they're lost forever."_

―  **Charles Xavier, X-Men: Days of Future Past**

"Did you see that?! Did you see that AKkeeaasghi?!" Bokuto exclaimed, bouncing around in excitement, "Kenma! Kuroo! Did you see?!"

"Yes, yes, we saw," Kuroo answered with a sigh, "Now stop moving around so much, I'm trying to fix you up before you break into pieces."

They were all gathered in the research facility, Kuroo bandaging Bokuto and making sure he wasn't badly injured. His burns and scratches were already disappearing and the bruises were slowly fading. At the same time, they were watching the news where the events from two days ago kept being shown in a loop.

"Looks like you have super healing as well as speed and strength," Kenma commented when they saw that there were no more traces of his battle in the burning, collapsing building.

"That's reassuring. But don't push yourself either," Akaashi said.

"I'm fine! Don't worry!"

"What happened with that girl?" Kenma asked when the tv showed her body being taken away.

Bokuto's excitement went down at once. He glanced bitterly at the tv then back at his hands, the hands that hadn't been able to save her in time…

"…I think she was discovering her powers for the first time. She was scared and panicked. That's why it kept discharging energy blasts like that. I promised I'd save her…"

His voice broke and he clenched his fists, the guilt shining in his eyes. The others glanced at each other, then Akaashi put a reassuring hand on his shoulders.

"Hey, you did everything you could. You saved so many more people… If it weren't for you, everyone in that building would be dead now."

"They shot her on sight without even asking a single question or giving her the benefit of the doubt. That's vile," Kenma said, lowering his head.

"Any info on Bokuto's identity being revealed, no cameras have been able to find Kuroo's motorbike either, right?" Akaashi asked him.

Kenma went back behind his desk and after typing a few things on his keyboard, he shook his head.

"Nothing. You were as stealthy as a night owl."

"I can't believe you just said that about  _Bokuto_  of all people…"

"I didn't, that guy's article did."

They sent him questioning looks and he quickly displayed a picture over the main screen, showing the screen capture of an article from the Tokyo News online newspaper.

"' _A New Era of Villains and Heroes'…"_  Akaashi read the title, and some of the article was written in bigger letters to make it stand out,  _"'The new hero of Tokyo who rose from the ashes of that building and rode into the night, stealthy as a night owl'."_

"I sound so cool!"

"That guy obviously doesn't know you. That's why he said that."

"More importantly," Kenma continued, "The one who wrote this article was on the accident scene and he is  _The Moon_."

"The Moon? That's such a cool nickname!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Isn't that the person who first shared with the public the missing people case?" Akaashi asked, frowning lightly.

"Yes, everyone is just impatient to read his next article. He's the only one giving information that hasn't been twisted by the media, or the army or whoever is in charge. That's probably why he's going with a nickname."

"Tokyo News loves to make major headlines, anything is allowed. Our boss is friends with their chief redactor," Kuroo continued.

"I thought about all this!" Bokuto exclaimed, attracting the attention back on him, "If I'm going to be a hero, I need to hide my real identity too! And use a hero name!"

"' _Nite Owl'_  seems fitting," Kuroo said with a shrug, "Everyone is calling you that on social media, thanks to Moon-moon's article."

"Ooooh! I'm already famous!"

"Bokuto-san, we're not doing this for fame…"

"I know, I know! But… it's so cool that I could touch people's hearts even with just one rescue!" Bokuto exclaimed, "And I'll need a hero costume too! I thought I could ask my mom to sew some–"

"Bokuto-san, it's probably best to keep her out of this." Akaashi said, frowning lightly, "It's probably best that no one else but all four of us know about this research facility, this vigilante activity or your true identity."

Bokuto hesitated before nodding.

"I guess you're right… but who knows how to sew?" He asked, glancing around.

They all looked at each other, before Kuroo sighed with a smirk.

"I say we add a lady to our team, shall we?"

"No, the less people that know, the safer we all are. I'll handle the hero costume, somehow…" Akaashi sighed.

"Another thing we should consider…"

Everyone turned towards Kenma as he once again showed them what he wanted to share on screen. They saw pictures of the rescue, and the orange arrow guy.

"This guy might be helpful. He's obviously on our side, and every hero needs a sidekick, right?"

"Yes! But… he's just a boy… he's young and super short," Bokuto continued.

"It still can't hurt to find him, even just to warn him to stay out of harm's way." Akaashi said before turning towards Kenma, "Do you think–"

"Yeah, I'm looking for him now… but if I can find him–"

"Then so can the army," Akaashi concluded darkly.

"Or even the police, I'm sure that right now everyone is looking for the both of you. I should probably go back to the Station by the way… just to keep an eye on what's going on over there," Kuroo continued.

"And don't show up at crime scenes with your motorbike, okay? I won't save your ass from the cameras again," Kenma told him as Kuroo left.

He didn't acknowledge him with an answer.

"I should go too, or Shirofuku is gonna be pissed if I'm late," Bokuto said after checking the time.

"Don't be reckless!"

"Or cocky."

"I'll be  _fine!"_

The following days went by in a sort of strange calm for Bokuto, but a real frenzy for the rest of his team. And the world was on fire – the apparition of villains and heroes was changing everything and no one had calmed down from it… Society was on the thin line between panic and chaos, just about to fall over the edge, and the only reason it hadn't collapsed yet was thanks to the army that kept an iron fist on  _everything_.

"What do you mean the bear exchange program has been shut down?!" Komi exclaimed when the Ueno Zoo team gathered for a meeting.

"The  _army_  shut it down," Shirofuku said, looking annoyed, which meant she was furious and deeply shaken, "It's a global arrest. Every zoo, every circus, every natural park and animal protection program has been stopped and cancelled for an undetermined amount of time. They say it's because we can't tell if the meteors have had an influence on the beasts the way it has on humans. It'd be too dangerous to try and transport them or even breed them."

"But they can't stop all breeding programs! We must exchange animals!"

"Maybe once they have answers, the situation will change. They said we need to collect blood and DNA samples from every single animal so one of their scientists can come and gather it all. They'll do some tests with it. Once again, it's something they're doing on a global scale."

"They're checking the DNA of every animal on the planet?" Bokuto asked, opening wide eyes in disbelief.

"If they're doing that then, it means they  _know_  that the animals have been infected by this virus!" Komi continued, frowning, "That's probably why Meimei lost her baby, and why so many of our animals died. It wasn't just stress!"

"A virus?" Bokuto repeated, his heart missing a beat.

"It's what people are saying on the internet, that this is an alien virus that's been infecting people. That's why some have superpowers now…" Shirofuku answered with a sigh, "I just hope it'll settle down quickly. The people may be panicked over this whole villain-vigilante thing going on, but… the number of visitors has increased."

"How come?"

"For a distraction. People are desperate to find some way to escape the way our world is changing and for a reminder of how it used to be. So we've had a lot of visitors since the re-opening of the Zoo , but if we can't have exchange programs, it'll be for nothing…" Shirofuku explained.

As the discussion continued, Koutarou wondered if it might be a virus. Could viruses attack DNA the way it had changed his? And if it was a virus of some sort, could it be transmitted from human to human…?

A vibration from his pocket attracted his attention to his phone.

" _Everything is ready."_  from Akaashi.

He couldn't fight the grin off his face.

_At night, in another part of the city…_

"Come on, hurry up!" A man with a black hood exclaimed, looking around nervously while the bank's alarm rang all around.

"I  _am_  hurrying!" His colleague answered.

The alarm was almost deafening him, and his nerves were getting to him. His heart was beating fast – it was nothing like the other little thefts they had done in the past. Now it was the real deal, in a bank where the police were on their way  _right_   _now_.

"Hurry!"

Finally, he felt the familiar tingle in the palm of his hands. He put them against the metal door that kept them from the riches on the other side. Almost immediately the metal started melting, opening a big hole.

When his colleague saw this, he laughed ecstatically.

"We're gonna be rich!"

Once the hole was big enough for a man to go through, they both entered and filled their bags with as much money as they could.

"We gotta go! Come on, move!"

They ran back upstairs, ignoring all the parts of the bank that had been damaged by his powers. They ran out of the bank and went into a street close-by where their car was waiting. They got in and drove away, trying to remain calm just as three police cars arrived at the bank, only to find it empty of money.

The two associates glanced at each other, grinning like mad men.

"We did it! We got the money!"

"We're rich!"

"HAHAAH!"

The leader of the two took the closest bag to him, opening it and breathing in the sweet scent of endless money.

"We are ri–  _WATCH OUT!"_

The super powered man suddenly saw a silhouette in the middle of the road. He braked and turned to the side. The car hit a lamp post and was stopped in its course.

They struggled to come back to themselves, blinking just as they saw the silhouette approach them slowly. He melted into the darkness, but the gold was glittering like stars.

Bokuto, or Nite Owl as he was at the moment, couldn't help but grin, feeling the adrenaline pulsating through his veins. His hero costume fit him like a new skin, as if he was becoming who he had meant to be all along…

_Some time ago, at the research facility…_

" _You finished my hero costume?! Really?!" Bokuto exclaimed excitedly._

" _Yeah, guess who is a super fan of superheroes and had a lot of ideas for your hero costume?" Kuroo said, sending a teasing glance in Akaashi's direction._

_He flushed and coughed to hide his embarrassment, showing Bokuto the door to a changing-room._

" _It's in there. If you need anything, don't hesitate–"_

_He hadn't even finished his sentence before Bokuto had run into the room, already throwing off his clothes all around._

" _Oi! At least close the door! Not everyone wants to see your naked butt!" Kuroo growled, quickly closing the door before joining Akaashi and Kenma, "He's gonna love it."_

" _It's not finished though," Kenma said from his computer, "We still need to add the sensors and Akaashi and I had a few ideas for toys."_

" _Toys~? Now I know what we're talking about~!" Kuroo hummed._

_The changing-room door burst open and Bokuto came out in all of his heroic glory._

" _This is SO COOL!" He shouted, spreading his arms wide._

" _It looks better on him than I would have thought…" Kuroo admitted as they watched him, sparkling in joy at being dressed in his hero costume for the first time._

_He kept turning around and looking at himself, not realising there was a mirror just in front of him._

_The costume was a skin-tight uniform in dark blue with some black additions over his shoulders, abs, and sides. His boots were high and black, and he had black gloves and knee pads. There were golden stripes going from his shoulders over the side of his arms and legs, but also along his pecs. He had a helmet, dark blue with golden wings on each side. On the middle of his chest there was a designed owl with the same colours as the rest of his costume._

_He looked_ _**super mega cool** _ _._

" _This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!"_

" _Now, it's not finished, Bokuto-san," Akaashi said, "We just made this quickly, but we will need to remake it with the proper fabric that Kuroo-san suggested."_

" _Yeah, the final version of your costume will be made in bullet-proof nomex and Kevlar, it'll be water and fireproof. We'll add sensors all over it to check on your vitals and ease everything for you."_

" _We'll add accessories and everything you need over time, so don't kill yourself right away," Kenma said._

" _But can I use it anyway?! Like, can I start to go and be a hero?! Or–"_

_Before Akaashi could disagree because the costume wasn't finished and it wouldn't be safe, a beeping sound echoed. Kenma quickly typed on his computer._

" _I thought you'd ask, so I hacked into the police radio transmissions–"_

" _I really don't like how easy it is for you to hack into everything…" Kuroo mumbled, narrowing his eyes._

"– _And it appears there is a theft happening right now at a bank. It's not far. You can make it on foot if you run fast. I'll guide you there."_

" _Wait, Bokuto-san–" Akaashi started._

" _I'm on my way!" Bokuto exclaimed, already rushing out the door._

_Akaashi sighed, then they all turned their full attention to the main screen, hoping that everything would go right…_

That was why, a few minutes later, Bokuto – no,  _Nite Owl_ , was standing in the middle of the road, ready to intercept the two thieves who had gotten into that bank.

"All that money belongs to other people…" He started.

"This is–"

"Let's get out of here!"

The leader grabbed his bags of money and got out of the car, starting to run away. His partner in crime tried opening the door, but it was stuck.

"W-wait–"

Despite the panic, he used his powers and melted away the door. It made the vigilante dressed in dark blue, black, and gold blink in disbelief.

"You have powers?! That's why you were so quick in stealing all that!" He exclaimed.

But the thief stumbled out of the car and tried to punch him, almost blindly. The vigilante stepped away to avoid the fist, but suddenly, he was hit on his side by a half-melted car door. He let out a gasp out of surprise rather than pain. It was enough for the man to start running away in the opposite direction as his partner.

"What the–"

" _Bokuto-san, can you focus please?"_  Akaashi said in his earpiece.

"How do you–"

" _I hacked the security cameras on the streets – we can see everything. So far, you caused a car accident, and let the two thieves run away. That's pathetic."_  Kenma said.

"O-oi! I'm trying my best!"

He glanced over his shoulder at the man who was limping. It'd be faster to catch up to him, but the other one had gotten away with money, so he started running after the first thief.

" _Turn on your left,"_  Kenma indicated.

It was a dark and narrow street that he would have ignored if Kenma hadn't told him to go left. The thief was here, hiding behind big bins with his money. When he saw the vigilante, he cried out and tried running away, with his bags still over his shoulders.

"Stop! In the name of the law!" Bokuto exclaimed.

" _Oi, you're not a police officer,"_ Kuroo mocked.

"Will you shut up all of you?!" He hissed, "AH! Wait! Not you! Don't go!"

" _Yeah, that thief is totally gonna listen to you."_

Bokuto growled as he ran and jumped after the man who was almost over a fence that separated the alley in two. He grabbed him by one of the bags with enough strength that the man almost fell over. He let go of the bag and jumped down on the other side, sprawled on the floor.

Bokuto was about to follow him when lights on his back suddenly startled him.

"Stop! In the name of the law!"

" _And here are the real police officers,"_  Kuroo mumbled.

Bokuto looked over his shoulder and saw three police officers pointing lights and guns at him.

"I'm not a thief, guys! I just caught your thief! He ran away over there!"

"Drop the money, thief! Get down from the fence, and put your hands up!" the police officer ordered.

He sighed, before throwing the bag in their direction. One of them panicked and shot at the bag and it was enough of a distraction for Bokuto to swiftly slip over the fence and land smoothly on the other side. He was out of view by the time the police officers looked up.

"What… what was that…"

"Why was he dressed like a bird…?"

Nite Owl ran, quickly catching up to the thief who tried to accelerate. Then, in panic, he threw his bag of money at the vigilante who bent down to avoid it and quickly grabbed the man. He tried to punch the hero who stopped his fist by grabbing it easily.

There was a couple nearby who screamed and didn't dare move after that, fearfully watching the scene.

"You really shouldn't go after someone who is bigger and stronger than you," Nite Owl said (cocky as fuck).

The thief paled just as they heard a hissing, creaking sound. The lights wavered, flickered then went off and they looked up. The lamppost was bending and falling right onto them – Nite Owl threw the thief away just as he grabbed the lamppost before it'd fall onto the couple. He held it up just as he saw the other thief who had melted the lamp post so it'd fall on them. Nite Owl let the rests of the lamppost down on the ground then ran after the two thieves.

He was about to catch up to them when they ran onto a main street – and Nite Owl didn't see the truck suddenly arriving. He jumped upwards just as it braked, trying to not hit him. He fell on top of the truck and rolled off the car, landing on one knee. He looked up, but the thieves had disappeared into the darkness of the night.

" _I don't see them anywhere. They've disappeared from the cameras,"_  Kenma indicated in his ear.

"Damn it!" He cursed, just as soldiers got out of the military truck that had almost hit him.

" _Go! Now!"_  Akaashi ordered.

He ran off quickly enough that despite the calls, the soldiers could only watch him.

"Suspicious? Should we follow him?" Shirabu asked, at the driver's seat.

"…Ignore him. Let's keep going," Ushijima ordered.

A moment later, the military truck arrived at the bank that had just been robbed.

"As you can see," a police officer started, showing them the melted metal, "We believe that… that  _one of them_  did it…"

"One of them?" Shirabu snorted, "You mean one of the superhuman?"

"Y-yes…" He answered nervously.

"There's nothing surprising about it. Petty crime rates are going to go up if more people than we thought have become superhumans," Semi said.

"Take some samples for analysis," Ushijima ordered, "What about the thieves?"

"W-we found the bags of money… Two had been left in their car after an accident, then two others were dropped on the way. The two thieves were… they were intercepted by… by…"

"By who?" Ushijima asked sharply.

"A-according to my men… by a man with great speed and strength… wearing a bird disguise…"

The soldiers all glanced at each other, unimpressed.

"Could it be that it was the man we almost ran over?" Shirabu proposed, remembering the weird outfit of that guy.

"Probably. He must think himself a hero of some sort. Well, as long as he doesn't get in the way…" Semi shrugged.

"Shirabu, you're in charge of investigating the car they left behind. Semi, you take as many samples as you can and call the forensics team here. I'll get someone at the police station to go through the camera recordings from the bank and the nearby streets to find out more about that duo of thieves – and that bird man."

"Yes, sir!" They exclaimed, saluting.

_Back at the research facility…_

"So… we kinda messed up, didn't we?" Kuroo concluded after they had gathered.

Kenma and Akaashi remained silent, but Bokuto needed more than that to feel defeated.

"Don't worry! We're just getting starting! I'm sure we'll find a way! We have to keep trying!"

"…Okay, if you believe we're capable of this, we'll follow you. Give me your suit, so I can have it patched up," Akaashi said.

"Who made that suit, anyway?" Kuroo asked, "You don't know how to sew, right?"

"I asked someone we can trust and who knows how to sew. It'll be no problem for her to do more of this in the future."

The others glanced at each other when Akaashi purposefully remained vague about this person's identity. They shrugged, deciding to trust each other.

They were all a little worried that the police or army would have found out about their nightly activities, but nothing was brought up by anyone, so they were still safe. At the Miyagi Police Station, under the order of the Shiratorizawa Special Forces, Kuroo's forensic team collaborated on the tests for all the samples they had collected from the bank.

"We found some DNA, but unless we have a match in the system, we won't find out who it is. As for the melted metal, there was nothing to get from it, except the fact that it had been melted. What we can say is that they didn't use any form of heat, but changed the molecular structure."

"So, this thief has the power to modify molecules at will?" Daichi asked, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against his desk.

"Yes, but I think… it might just be metals and not every substance. Otherwise, they would have gone straight into the safe and not taken the risk of going through the entire bank," Kuroo answered. "I'm running some tests to see if this guy's DNA shows any sign of… superhuman genes." He said, trying to be as vague as possible as to not share that he  _knew_  what he should be looking for.

"We'll take it from here," Ushijima said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, we'll take it from here," he repeated.

"I heard you, big guy, but this is  _my_  lab and  _my_  tests. If we have a way to find some clue about these superhumans, to identify them or get  _any_  answers, then we should  _continue_  to research to find out–"

"I understand your intentions, Kuroo-san. We'll send all the samples to an army facility with a better laboratory that will ensure that the samples will not be damaged or contaminated," Ushijima continued.

"Are you saying my team isn't good enough?" He hissed, glaring at the man.

Ushijima raised an eyebrow, thinking about this question. Then he looked straight into the scientist's eyes.

"Yes."

"You've got some balls to show up here and–"

"Kuroo," Daichi cut.

Kuroo sent him a harsh glare, then turned around without another word, not sending a single look to either Ushijima or Daichi. He went straight into his lab and his bad mood was enough to make his entire team stop in their tracks and send him a questioning look. He went straight to his computer with the intention of saving as much data as possible, but a soldier was already entering the lab – how could they act so fast?! The order had just been given thirty seconds ago!

"I'm here to collect all the samples for the current bank investigation," Semi announced.

Kuroo's fingers trembled over the keyboard – now that the man was here and staring at him, he couldn't save anything without being suspicious.

Akane, who was currently working on said-samples, sent a questioning look in Kuroo's direction, raising her eyebrow.

"…Give him everything," he said through gritted teeth.

She turned her head to hide her expression of annoyance and started gathering everything, Semi just behind her, waiting patiently.

"You seem very loyal to that lab head of yours," he commented as she started handing it over, and he glanced at the rest of the forensics team who all stared at him suspiciously, "All of you."

"We're his kittens. Of course we're loyal to him," she answered with a sweet smile.

Semi stared at her, knowing very well that her smile couldn't be more fake, but he didn't doubt that they were all ready to obey Kuroo without blinking an eye.

"Would you jump out of a window if he ordered you to?" He asked, tilting his head on a side.

Akane laughed loudly, looking at him as if he was a complete fool.

"Of course not! Would  _you?"_

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

It shook her and she stared at him as he smiled and left with every single sample and evidence.

"What the heck is wrong with that guy…" She muttered.

"I think he fancies you," Yakkun said with a teasing smirk, "Like every single man who walked past you for that matter…"

She rolled her eyes then went back to her computer.

Later that day, the Nite Owl team gathered at the research facility after a message from Kenma. They found him behind the computer like usual.

"How much time do you even spend in here, Kenma?" Bokuto asked.

"I like this place. It's nice and there aren't too many people. Good thing my job doesn't require any set hours or places to do my stuff…" He answered with a shrug.

Working as a video game tester had its perks – other than playing video games all the time, it also meant that he could take as much 'work' home (or anywhere else) as he wanted as long as he gave the reviews in time.

"Why did you call us, Kozume-san?" Akaashi asked.

"I found something for you. He's in the kitchen."

"' _He'?"_  Kuroo repeated with wide eyes.

As if on cue, a short guy suddenly showed up, holding a packet of crisps.

"Kenma! Do you want some crisps? Oh! Are these the friends you were about?!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"You!" Bokuto exclaimed, pointing at him, "The orange arrow!"

"That's the guy who's got superspeed?!" Kuroo exclaimed, remembering he had seen him just before the building accident.

It was the orange-haired and wide-eyed kid. He was even shorter and younger up-close.

"I'm Hinata Shouyou!" He exclaimed, "Wait! Are you the superhero from the other day who saved all those people?!" He asked excitedly.

Bokuto startled, then he grinned widely.

"Yeah! That's me! You can call me…  _Nite Owl!"_  He exclaimed, trying to look cool.

"WAAAAAAH! That's so COOOOOL!"

"Right?! AHAHAAH!"

"He's good at fluffing Bokuto's feathers the right way…" Kuroo said, before turning towards Kenma, "How did you find him? I thought he was too blurry to be identifiable?"

"Ah, he found us, actually. Or so he believes."

"Okay, what did you do?" Kuroo asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"After the accident with the energy blast girl, Bokuto isn't the only one who started helping out people. That superspeed guy did too. We only had pictures and videos, too fast and blurry to be of any use, but I thought that if he was so eager to help out people and be a hero like Bokuto, he might have been of the same species of super-idiots. I noticed an IP address that was very closely following everything related to the accident, the orange arrow's manifestations, etc. So I led him to us."

He paused, reaching for the packet of crisps that Hinata had left there.

"I looked into that IP address and I sent web pages to him, that only  _he_  could have access to. He thought he had found a clue about where the Night Owl Hero from the other day was. He didn't even check anything and came straight here."

"I didn't even know we could do such a thing with the internet…" Akaashi murmured, impressed.

"You can do anything you want. Anyway, he came here and literally knocked at the door, without even bothering to keep his tracks covered."

"Was he followed?"

"He's so obvious that no one pays him any attention – on the internet or in real life."

"And why did you lead him here exactly?" Kuroo asked, arms crossed over his chest.

Before Kenma could answer, the excited voices of the two bonding heroes rose.

"I came here to help you! I want to be a hero like you!" Hinata exclaimed, looking up at Bokuto in absolute awe.

"Wait, wait, wait – it's not something you can improvise! You need to feel it and have a special power of sort to–"

"I'm super fast!" Hinata continued, his enthusiasm never wavering.

"I know, but you're a  _kid!_  I can't let you put yourself in danger!" Bokuto continued, putting his hands on his hips like a scolding father.

"I'm not a kid! I'm twenty-five years old!" He exclaimed vehemently, looking offended.

Bokuto opened and closed his mouth, before tilting his head on a side in confusion. Then he turned towards the others and Kenma leaned forward.

"If you try to stop him, it won't work. He's determined to be a hero like you. You're inspiring people, Bokuto. And… Shouyou, tell him."

Hinata darkened a little, and clenched his fists, before speaking up, voice full of anger and determination.

"I… I lost my best friend. He disappeared with the rest of the missing people – I think… I think he was like me–  _us_ … but before I could find out, and I was freaking out about my super speed too, he was gone. I couldn't find any clues. I've been looking for him ever since, but…"

He lowered his head, and everyone remained silent while Kuroo started thinking, the gears in his brain functioning at full speed.

"So… I don't just want to help you because you're cool. I have more reasons than anyone else here to do  _something_. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. I want to help people and I need to find him."

He looked up, light brown eyes bright in determination. Bokuto stared back at him, then nodded, seeing in his eyes what he needed as reassurance that this guy, as small and young as he seemed, was readier than anyone else to be a hero.

"What's your friend's name?" He asked.

"Kageyama Tobio."

Bokuto turned towards Kuroo, but he shook his head.

"The name doesn't ring a bell, but there have been so many missing people. I can't tell if I've heard it or not."

Upon seeing Hinata's questioning look, Bokuto answered his silent question with a smile.

"That guy may not look like it, but he works at the Miyagi Police Station, so he'll try to find everything he can about your friend! As for Akaashi here, he's super rich, so he helps us with all our tech! And Kenma – you know him."

"That's so cool!" Hinata exclaimed, hyped once again, "Then! I can help, right?!"

He turned towards Bokuto who, glad to have someone praising him and looking up to him (instead of the three other snarky bastards he was dealing with), was instantly hooked.

"Hell yeah! You can be my sidekick! We'll be a super team! I know it!"

"YEAH!"

In a manner of expressing his enthusiasm, Hinata jumped as high as the ceiling. Akaashi had tried to say something, but sighed, realizing that it was useless… Regardless of his opinion, Hinata was now part of the team.

"Well… it can't hurt to have someone else with superpowers backing us up." Kuroo said with a shrug, "Hey, Shrimpy!"

" _Shrim_ – I'm Hinata Shouyou!" He exclaimed, jumping up as aggressively as a baby bird.

"Yeah, yeah, you said your friend had started manifesting superhuman powers just before he disappeared, right?"

"I-I think so, at least! He got sick, then stopped answering messages. He acted really weird, and when I felt better and went to check on him, his apartment was completely empty. He has a competition coming up soon, so… I really don't think he'd have any reason to leave without warning. He loves volleyball more than anything."

Kuroo put his fingers against his chin, thinking deeply.

"What is it, Kuroo-san?" Akaashi asked.

"…We couldn't find anything linking the missing people together. It seemed completely random… But maybe the reason why all these people disappeared is because they developed superpowers."

"You mean…"

Kuroo looked up, lips opening and closing. Kenma quickly typed something on his computer and an instant later, despite the silence broken by Hinata's whispered  _"so cool…!",_  pictures and files started appearing of all the missing people. Quickly, the people piled up – not just in Tokyo, all of Japan, the entire Asian continent…  _the whole world_. And the number kept growing everyday.

They all shivered.

"There could be this many people who have been infected?" Akaashi asked in a low voice, eyes wide.

"…If the public finds out, there's going to be complete panic. How many of these people are dangerous or couldn't control their powers like that girl? How many will turn to crime like those thieves? How many…have yet to discover their powers?" Kuroo asked, approaching the screen before pausing, "…And once again, what does the army have to do with all of this?"

He turned back towards the others and they remained silent. Sensing the sudden heaviness in the atmosphere, Bokuto spoke up.

"We'll find out eventually! But until then, we can help little by little, by saving the people around us! Hinata and I!" He continued, putting a hand on the youngling's shoulder, "We'll become the heroes and the ray of hope that everyone needs right now! Leave it to us!"

"We're doomed…" Kenma mumbled.

" _OI!_  Kenma! Show some more enthusiasm!"

Bokuto tried, in vain, to motivate Kenma and finally, the group went their separate ways for that day.

_Meanwhile in another part of the city…_

"I can't believe that stupid bird-dressed wanna-be-vigilante ruined all our plans!" Abe exclaimed, furious.

He kicked the nearest pile of boxes and table, and it all fell down with a tremendous sound. Fujimoto, his partner in crime, startled and fumbled with his fingers nervously as Abe went in angry circles.

"I need that money back!"

"I need the money too, but… now the police, and the army and  _heroes_  are after us – they're all ready to stop us…"

"Are you backing down now?!" Abe hissed, pointing a furious finger at him.

Fujimoto swallowed hard, glancing down. He saw his wedding ring shining on his left hand and tightened his lips. He couldn't back down – she needed him…

"No… I'm not…"

"Then show some nerve! If only you hadn't lost our car! Thank goodness they can't it back to track me… tch! All that money! It had been so easy, until that hero had showed up! I'm gonna pluck him like some chicken!"

"…Shouldn't we focus on getting the money back instead of vengeance?" He asked, thinking back on his deadline, "I need to have it by after-tomorrow. If I can't pay by then, my daughter and I…"

His voice cracked and Abe whipped towards him, a terrifying glint in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Fujimoto! I've got a plan. I know someone who told me that the bank is going to transfer, for safety, most of the content of its safe to another, bigger place."

"We barely managed to get into the safe in time last time. If it's bigger and has better protection–"

"Guess what the truck they're going to use is made of?" Abe continued with a grin.

Fujimoto barely hesitated before answering:

"Metal."

"Exactly! With your powers…! We can make it happen! We just need a distraction… I can get my hands on the necessary tools… Just be ready to receive the instructions, got it?"

Fujimoto glanced down at his hands that, since that meteor, could make every metal melt as easily as if it were ice on burning hands. It was his salvation.

"Go home. I'll send you everything you need to know," Abe said, waving him off.

"…Yeah…"

Fujimoto went home, shoulders down, keeping his hands deep in his pockets. He kept glancing around, scared that the police, or the army, or even that hero, would find him and arrest him. He couldn't afford that, not now. His daughter needed him.

He found her playing quietly in the living-room.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed with a big smile when she saw him coming.

She ran to him and he took her into his arms.

"How was work?"

"It… it wasn't easy… I'll need to go back tomorrow night."

She pouted, obviously disappointed, but quickly cheered up.

"But! Until then! We can play together, right? We'll play princess and dragons! You can be my knight!"

"Yeah… let's play…"

He ignored the pile of unpaid bills and the little altar with the picture of his deceased wife, so he could play with his lonely girl. If only he could get her a nanny, but she had quit weeks ago because she wasn't being paid and now, he was also scared social services would try to take his daughter away from him. He'd die if that happened, which was why these powers was a blessing – they had arrived just in time to save his family…

He received the instructions from Abe, and that night, he put his daughter to bed, promising her a better tomorrow.

_Bokuto's apartment…_

_He felt like he was falling so fast that entering the atmosphere set him on fire. Every single one of his cells was bursting into flames, leaving nothing but an iridescent dust in his path. He didn't see the earth coming into view until he was falling into it, shredded to pieces and tearing apart the forest all–_

Bokuto startled awake, breathing hard and putting his hands over his body, but it wasn't on fire and he wasn't falling. He had been having this dream almost every night ever since the night of the meteor. Whatever had affected him and given him this super strength, it was also affecting his dreams.

He finally realized that what had woken him up wasn't the dream itself, but the annoying ringing from his phone. He squinted his eyes in the darkness to see the screen and saw an alert sent by Kenma's app.

" _A truck from the bank transporting the contents of several safes was blown up and the two thieves took everything from it."_

He stood up at once and jumped towards his suit that Akaashi had let him take home – it was still the unfinished version, but at least, he could go and help out. As he was driving towards the crime scene, he got in contact with Kenma who was behind his computer in another part of the city.

" _Good thing I put an alert from the police's communications. They tried going after the two thieves, but the one who can melt metal managed to get various stuff to fall in their way like–"_

"Lampposts?" Bokuto finished with a grin, "He should renew his arsenal."

" _Yeah, well, you don't have a new arsenal either, but Shouyou is on his way to help you out – he came by the research facility. I started developing something that might be useful for the two of you."_

"Oh? What's that, Super Brain?"

" _Don't call me that. It's just a tracker. Get it stuck on their clothes and we'll know where they are, even if you can't catch them right away."_

"So cool!"

" _That's what Shouyou said. Another thing, the police are after them right now. Don't get in their way. You're just there to help them arrest those two, got it?"_

"Yes, yes! I know!"

He made his car take a sharp turn into a smaller street and parked it as close as possible to the crime scene. It didn't take long to find the little crowd gathered around the smoking truck. The police had set up a security perimeter and the army was also here.

"Look!"

He startled when he realised that several people had noticed him. His hero costume was helping him fade into the night, but as soon as he was in the light, he was clearly visible. Several people took pictures and approached him.

"Are you the hero from the other day? From the building accident?"

"Are you the Night Owl?"

"A-ah, uh! I gotta go! Catch bad guys! Later!" He exclaimed, running off and ignoring the policemen who yelled at him to stop, "Kenma! Guide me through the streets! I should be able to catch up to them by running."

" _You're overestimating your speed. Shouyou is on his way to you right now."_

"Bokuto-saaaan!"

Bokuto glanced to his side just as Hinata showed up, casually running backwards. He was wearing a headscarf to hide most of his face.

"Kenma told me to give you that!" He exclaimed, handing him some little thingies that must have been the trackers.

"Thanks!"

"I'm going ahead!"

Bokuto opened his lips, but he ran off, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"I need to get a way to move faster than this…" He mumbled to himself, continuing to run as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, Hinata was running so fast that it didn't take long before he saw the car he was pursuing. It looked like it wasn't even moving compared to his speed. He ran ahead of it then jumped on top of it. Abe braked suddenly, looking up at the new guy who had showed up.

"What the–"

"There's another one?!"

Hinata, face half hidden by his scarf, looked at them, grinning even though they couldn't see his smile.

"Leaving the party so soon?"

"Get rid of him!" Abe shouted.

Fujimoto hesitated, not knowing what to do against a young guy with superpowers. Abe saw Nite Owl running towards the car in the rearview mirror. He started the engine again, but went backwards. Hinata let out a big yelp, rolling backwards just as the car was about to run over Nite Owl. Bokuto braked and jumped upwards, avoiding the car and landing on the road.

Abe almost lost control of the car and he stopped before speeding forward. Both Nite Owl and Hinata managed to escape their way swiftly as it continued.

"Hinata!" Bokuto shouted.

He understood without an explanation and ran after the car, leaving a tracker on it. Hinata stopped running just as Bokuto caught up with him.

"Should we keep going after them or–"

Just then, several military trucks came out of a side street. It hit the car, sending it flying. Money rained.

"What the–"

"They might have killed them!"

"Stay there, stay hidden!" Bokuto ordered, starting to run.

Hinata wanted to follow, but his face was too exposed.

Nite Owl arrived at the same time as the soldiers who were slowly approaching the car, guns at the ready.

"Hey! Get out of here!"

"Remain where you are!"

Nite Owl ignored them, jumping over the rests of the car with ease. He climbed on top of it, and saw one of the man was unconscious – the driver – and the other one was frantically trying to melt everything he could reach to escape the car. It took only a moment for Nite Owl to understand why he was panicking – oil and gasoline were making a pool, and it was a question of seconds, minutes with luck, before it exploded.

Without waiting another moment, he tore off the car door and starting pulling out the unconscious thief out of the car.

"It's gonna explode! Stay away from here!" He shouted to the soldiers who stopped at once.

Just then, Hinata went by in a flash, grabbing the unconscious man and depositing him at the feet of Major Ushijima. He blinked, seeing the unconscious man, and tried to follow the silhouette of that super-fast superhuman, but he was out of view already.

"Give me your hand! I'll pull you out!" Nite Owl said, lending his hand to the thief.

Fujimoto stared up at him, stunned, then grabbed the hand. He was pulled out and Nite Owl jumped down, running away and letting the man down. The car exploded, but a fragment hit a nearby wall and passerbys, who were trying to take refuge as far as possible from the crazy scene, bent down. The wall started to crumble, some bits falling on the people, and a shop sign started falling down. Nite Owl sprinted across the street just as the shop sign was about to fall on a mother and her child, he jumped and punched it out of the way. It landed loudly on the ground and everyone was safe.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you so much!"

He smiled but remembered the thief. He turned around and despite the soldiers trying to reduce the mess that had happened, the second thief wasn't around. He brought his hand up to the side of his helmet.

"Kenma! Give me the location of that thief!"

" _He's not on the cameras. I lost him. I'm in my apartment and my computer can't handle so many things at the same time."_

"No, I put a tracker on him – find him!"

" _Oh."_

"Don't sound so surprised I thought of that!"

"Hey! You!"

Nite Owl saw a soldier with impressive stature – probably one of the leaders? – approach him. He started running in the opposite direction, just as Kenma started giving him directions to follow.

Some time later, after crossing half of the city on foot, he finally arrived in front of an apartment complex. Bokuto just had to force the door a little and it opened.

"Kenma, can you figure out which apartment he lives in?"

" _I'm your tech expert, not a witch."_

"Then why do you act like one?"

" _Use your bird of prey senses,"_  he suggested, not at all helpful.

Bokuto glanced at the mail boxes, and noticed one full of bills and deadlines. He started going into the stairwell.

" _How do you know where to go?"_  Kenma asked.

"I'm using my bird of prey senses, like you said," he answered with a grin.

He arrived in front of the apartment with the name Fujimoto written on it. He turned the doorknob and entered without any trouble. It was completely dark, but he could hear the sounds of someone rummaging in a hurry in another room. He went there silently. He immediately recognized the thief who was trying to pack up as much as he could. He was so nervous he didn't notice Nite Owl, until he turned around and saw the gold of his eyes and costume fixated on him. He jumped and fell on his behind.

He panicked then grabbed something from his bag – Nite Owl's eyes widened. A gun–

_PAM!_

It hit the ceiling. Nite Owl jumped into Fujimoto and knocked the gun out of his hand. Fujimoto punched him, but it barely brushed Nite Owl who grabbed him by the collar and raised him off the floor.

"That's enough, Fujimoto!" He exclaimed, frowning.

"D-don't…! P-please! Spare me!"

He raised his hands and Nite Owl saw tears in his eyes. That was when he realised that despite his best intentions, right now, he appeared to be the villain. He was trying to help people, bring hope into this society… but it also meant that for the bad guys, he was nothing more than a villain using his brute strength to destroy them.

He opened his lips to answer–

"Daddy…?"

Both Nite Owl and Fujimoto turned towards the door that had just opened and saw the little girl, holding her plushie and looking at the terrifying scene with tears in her eyes.

"L-let my daddy go! Let him go!" She exclaimed.

Nite Owl pouted, but dropped Fujimoto to the ground. The little girl was too terrified to move. Nite Owl observed her, then glanced at the piles of bills and the altar for the deceased mother…

"Is this why you tried stealing money? Because you needed to get it for your daughter?" He asked in a surprisingly quiet voice.

"…After my wife died… I… I couldn't handle it… I lost my job… and one disaster after another… it never ended… Abe-san convinced me to help him steal a little, but… but we had no luck… until… I received a blessing from the heavens…"

He looked down at the palms of his hands and Nite Owl clenched his fists.

"…If this Abe-san is the one in charge for the stealing, then… I'm sure the judge will understand, but…"

He knelt down in front of Fujimoto, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You still need to be held responsible for your crimes. You can't go on like this. You need to give your daughter a proper life."

"H-how…?"

"Face your crimes, fulfil your judgement, and then…leave prison as a better man, one a daughter can be proud of… and…"

He turned towards the little girl, and smiled.

"Become her hero. But I'm willing to bet you already are."

He made a sign towards the little girl who nodded vigorously.

"My daddy is the best! And next time he'll beat your butt!"

"W-what will happen to her…?" He asked, voice shaking.

"She'll be taken by social services – and you'll probably be allowed to see her again if you behave well. She'll be into good hands. And I'll personally make sure that she gets treated right!" Bokuto explained, trying to sound reassuring.

Fujimoto felt tears burning his eyes. He had been so scared to become a shame and a burden to his daughter. He had feared she would never want to see him again if she had learned what he had done…  _but_ …

Fujimoto stared at Nite Owl, eyes wide and knowing he couldn't run away from his responsibilities anymore, he lowered his head. There was no reason to fight when it was a lost battle. The man he had thought wanted to take his life for stealing was giving him a second chance.

Nite Owl took the gun, and once he was sure there were no other weapons around, he called the police with an anonymous tip.

He watched from the other side of the street as the police cars arrived and moved to arrest a tied-up Fujimoto who was waiting for them, a message from the hero Nite Owl pinned to his chest. The little girl was taken into custody until further investigation.

" _You did a good job today,"_  Kenma said in his ear.

"I have, haven't I?! So did Hinata, by the way! Where is he?"

" _He went home after I told him you had the situation under control."_

"Ahah! I did! Am I not the best?!"

"… _Yeah, you kinda are. Not many would have given a second chance to a thief and made sure his daughter didn't stop seeing him as her hero."_

Nite Owl smiled, then he disappeared into the darkness to try and find his car wherever he had parked it.

"Kenma, can you guide me back to my car? I think I lost it, ah ah?"

"… _You're hopeless…"_

Nite Owl didn't notice that on the other side of the street, a man on a motorbike had taken many pictures of him, half hidden in the darkness. The reporter lowered his camera, his glasses shining under the moonlight.

He started his motorbike engine, then followed the hero to his car, then to his apartment complex. The hero had seemed so simple-minded and easy-going that it had been incredibly easy to follow him, and as a consequence, the cocky journalist decided to get closer to him.

Nite Owl was way too proud about his night's success to really think twice as he got out of his car and took off his mask – while still standing in the street. He let out a heavy sigh, full of heroic satisfaction, just as he heard a click. He turned his head and froze, seeing a reporter with light hair and glasses who had just taken his picture – wearing his costume, and no mask.

For a moment they stared at each other, and then the reporter who had followed him opened his mouth.

"We need to talk." He said in a stern voice.

Bokuto panicked. He punched him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!
> 
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think!
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER : THE MOON
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	6. The Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the new chapter! Thank you for everyone who kudoed, followed and commented! I listened a lot to "Scared of the dark" from the Into the Spiderverse ost for this chapter! :D

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER VI : The Moon

" _These stories of people with unusual powers and unusual appearances, who do unusual things, people are always fascinated by them."_

―  **Stan Lee**

_The night of the meteor…_

Tsukishima Kei sat down in front of his computer with a cup of tea to finish the article due tomorrow. He brought the cup to his lips, but before he could take a sip, his phone vibrated. He frowned lightly, not knowing who could call him at such an hour, but his face immediately lit up when he saw his older brother's name.

"Nii-san, isn't it really early for you right now?" He asked, pleased to receive a call from his brother.

" _Kei! Listen to me!"_

Akiteru's panicked voice made Kei react instantly. He straightened up and stopped breathing, listening to every word.

" _I was– I found out something and I– I'm sending you everything right now, okay?"_

"W-what? What are you talking about, nii-san? What happened?" He asked.

" _I can't explain now, not over the phone! I'm sending it now! You_ _ **must**_ _reveal the truth to everyone! Do you understand, Kei?_ _ **You have to!"**_  Akiteru urged.

"I don't understand! What's going on?!" He asked, panicked, clenching the side of the table with his hand.

" _I wish I had more time to tell you everything, but I don't think I'll–"_

He was interrupted and Kei heard the phone falling on the ground.

"Nii-san!" He called loudly.

He could hear fighting and indistinct screams.

"Nii-san…! NII-SAN!" He shouted through the phone.

The line was suddenly cut.

He stared in emptiness, barely breathing and shaking. The only sound he could hear was the beeping of the ended call, resonating with his panicked heartbeat.

A new screen appeared on his computer, startling him. He set down his phone, but kept it within sight to answer if his brother were to call once again. He opened the new file that had been shared by his brother – but Kei could tell that not everything had been sent, it seemed uncomplete. Before checking what was inside, he quickly erased all traces of his IP address. Whatever had happened to his brother, he wasn't supposed to be sharing these files and that was why he had been– why he was in danger. He should probably try to remain as low-key as possible.

Then, he opened the files. His eyes widened, the computer screen reflected on his glasses.

It all concerned his brother's work – he was a biochemist working for NASA in America, which was why Kei had been surprised by his call. He didn't know the details of Akiteru's work because it was mostly confidential, but it was a project he was very excited about – something about stopping Global Warming.

But what Kei was reading right now had nothing to do with Global Warming. It was a bunch of files and data on something called OWL Project that talked about some space station and satellites that should be sent to fly over the Earth. And it was easy to understand that the initial launch had been override and it was set to happen–

Kei gasped and stood up, running to the closest window and pulling open the curtains. The sky was lit up with a kaleidoscope colours, falling down like a meteor towards the ground with a line of fiery dust in its trail. There were several paths and lines crossing the sky, but one was close to landing in Tokyo. He ran back towards his computer and checked the details of the landing site. It was planned to hit the centre of Tokyo, but it was obviously going off track. Still, he should be capable of finding out where exactly it was going.

He put on his jacket and shoes, then ran downstairs and climbed on his motorbike, starting the engines and following the 'meteor'. Whatever had happened to his brother, whatever he had discovered –  _this_  was the consequences of it. The only way to help his older brother, would be to find out the truth about this OWL Project.

He drove through the city and into the forest where the meteor was going to fall. He suddenly braked and stopped his motorbike in the middle of the road when he saw several military trucks further away that were going in the same direction as him.

_What does the army have to do with a NASA project for Global Warming?_  He thought, deciding to remain hidden as much as he could.

Just then, the deafening sound of the meteor hitting the ground resonated in the forest, and probably miles around. The shockwave made the trees shake and Kei almost fell over. He breathed hard just as all the electronics flickered on and off for no reason… Before he could register what had happened, they were back on as if nothing had happened.

Kei started his engines and followed the army trucks. He drove past a civilian car, but he was too focused on his goal: getting to the crash site as fast as possible, before the army. He accelerated when the trucks got into view, but then, he turned off the road and continued following them from afar, through the forest. He was mostly hidden by the trees while the trucks continued following the main road.

Then, he started smelling the scent of burning trees. It was so intense that he was certain he would never forget such a smell. It wasn't just some plants burning – it was also smothering ashes, burning flames, melting metal…

He stopped his motorbike then, grabbing his phone and filming everything. He started running towards where the smell was the most intense. He was still hidden in the trees, but he could see the wall of white light rising in front of him. Was it caused by flames? The heat was getting more and more intense as he got closer, maybe there was–

Kei stopped abruptly when he arrived at the crash site.

He felt like he was watching a scene from sixty-six million years ago during the K/T extinction that put an end to the dinosaurs. It was like all the images and videos he grew up with – he had always been in awe by the fact that such an event destroyed the most incredible animals that had ever walked the Earth, but now… now that he was facing it, that it was part of his reality and the present time, he was just terrified.

The trees had been crushed on an area over a hundred meters wide. Most of them were now charred and still burning. The army had arrived and they were currently putting out all the fires, trying to reduce the risk of it expanding any further. There were some helicopters and light towers being set up everywhere, and soldiers were running around, setting up a security perimeter.

A beam of light passed over Kei and it brought him back into reality. He jumped behind a tree and what was left of some bushes. He set up his phone as best as he could to film all the details he could see from where he was hiding. The surface of the crash was smooth, the speed and intensity of the impact had been enough to turn the trees into ashes and the ashes into solidified carbon. And in the centre of the impact, still smoking…

He zoomed as much as he could, but there was no way to see or decipher what this was. One thing was certain though: it wasn't a meteor.

"HEY! You!"

Kei jumped up as flashlights landed on him. He ran away as fast as possible from the crash site through the forest. He was aware of the soldiers running after him, but they were slower with all of their weapons. The moment Kei reached his motorbike and started it again, all they could do was watch the vehicle leaving, bumping all over the destroyed terrain of the forest.

He went home and spent the entire night going over the news, reading again and again and again what his brother had sent him, and analysing all the information he had gathered that night. He could only helplessly watch the news as the number of victims kept increasing every hour.

_Is this what you tried to tell me, nii-san?_

It didn't take much time for his boss to call him in. He needed as many reporters as possible to cover the current events. The whole city, no,  _country_ , no! The whole  _world_  was in an uproar.

When exhaustion from no sleep and the entire day of crazy reporting became too much to handle, Kei went home without bothering to tell his boss who had a tendency to disappear when he was needed most. How that newspaper was functioning at all was beyond him.

He fell head first into his bed and was woken up hours later, when the night had fallen, by his phone ringing frantically. He squinted due to the sudden light, but answered when he saw that it was his mother.

" _Kei! Kei, are you all right?!"_

"I'm fine, mom… Just tired." He answered calmly.

There was a moment of silence, cut only by her uneven breathing. It made Kei realise there was something wrong, beyond her worry for his safety after a meteor crash.

"Mom? What is it?" He asked, his heart squeezing in worry.

" _It's Akiteru,"_ she said, voice breaking, _"He's… I received a call from his job. They said he– there was an accident where he was working…"_

_It wasn't an accident._

" _They're looking for him right now– he… he's just missing for now, but… we can't– we must keep hope, okay?"_

Kei swallowed hard. He could hear her panicking completely at the idea that her eldest son might have suffered injuries or  _worse_  because of an accident at his work.

" _I'll keep you updated, okay?"_

"…Okay."

" _Don't worry, Kei. I'm sure he's fine. He must be."_

Her voice broke once again and Kei lowered his head, barely breathing.

"Yeah… he must be… He's– nii-san wouldn't let anything happen to him. He's good at his work, there's no way an accident would… have done anything…"

" _I don't want you to worry, okay? You stay safe and away from this meteor story, okay?"_

"Yeah…"

After a few more worried sentences exchanged, she ended the call.

Kei lowered his phone, staring at the darkness of his bedroom. Of course, the official story they'll receive will be one of an "unfortunate accident" happening to his brother, with no body to find, probably. Of course they'll cover up the truth…  _of course–_

He hid his face into his knees, clenching his fists. He had never felt so useless and stupid. What did his brother find? What was happening?  _What was happening?_

" _Nii-san! NII-SAN!"_

_The door opened and the light from the hall came into the bedroom that seemed way too big for a five years old Kei… Akiteru came in yawning and hair a complete mess._

" _Kei, what is it?"_

" _I had a nightmare, nii-san…"_

_Akiteru smiled, then sat on the bed next to him._

" _What happened?"_

"… _You were gone and I was all alone in the dark…" He answered, trying to fight off his tears._

_Kei curled up, hiding his face into his knees. Akiteru put a hand on his back, smiling reassuringly._

" _It's okay, Kei. It was just a nightmare. You don't have to be scared of the dark. I'm here and everything is fine."_

" _You'll never leave me, right, nii-san?" Kei asked in a shaky voice, looking up._

" _Never. I'll always be here for you, Kei." He answered with a bright smile._

_Kei smiled, finally comforted, then curled up against his big brother. As long as he was here, there was no reason to be scared of the dark._

Now, Kei faced the darkness of his bedroom, all alone. He hadn't been scared of the dark or nightmares in years, but for the first time since he was a kid… he was scared enough that he wanted to call his big brother for comfort.

He started shaking, tears burning into his eyes.

His brother was  _gone_. However it had happened, whatever reasons had caused such an 'accident'… he might never see his big brother ever again. While his parents were holding onto the hope that Akiteru would be found safe and sound soon, while the world was mourning for the victims of these 'meteors', Kei cried all alone for his big brother.

He might still be scared of the dark, after all…

During the days that followed, Kei focused on covering all the stories he could. He put off thinking about his brother and the truth behind these meteors to ignore the weight of grief. His mother received a call explaining that, unfortunately, no body was found after this explosion. They were trying not to let Akiteru's disappearance take over their lives as well, but it was  _hard_.

These were the hardest days of his life so far.

"Hey, Tsukki!"

"Please stop calling me that," he said without looking up from his computer.

His boss, the editorial director of the Tokyo News Sugawara Koushi, put his hands on his hips. He looked surprisingly serious for once, which was enough to make Kei pause in his typing.

"I heard about your brother's accident… You should take a few days off." He suggested calmly.

Kei's fingers trembled above the keyboard, then he forced a smile, but Suga-san knew him well enough to know he didn't feel like smiling at all.

"It's fine. He's not dead or anything. Just missing for now. It'll be fine." He said, but after saying these words out loud, he realised how ridiculous it sounded.

Sugawara didn't waver, continuing to stare at him with pity– no, it was more… of a comforting look? There was a running joke in the News team that their boss was often like a mother hen to all of them. But it was the first time Kei couldn't deny that his boss  _did_  seem like a single mother of twelve who had gone through the hardest times of her life and couldn't be shaken by anything.

"You don't have to force yourself to come to work. I totally get that it helps take your mind off the grief, but it doesn't mean it's gone or won't hit you eventually. Take a few days off to be with your family, okay?"

Kei stared at him. Suga smiled and patted his shoulder before turning around.

The moment he was alone, he let out a heavy sigh and let his shoulders drop a little. He took off his glasses and passed his hand over his face. Did he really look like enough of a mess that his boss would suggest he should take days off?

Unsure of whether he'll take his boss's advice or not, he still went home early that day. Like he had been doing everyday now, he was checking the list of victims from the meteor and checking if his parents had received any news… or if Akiteru had sent him any messages.

He tried to relax with movies, but it was useless… His phone started vibrating and he tried to suppress his disappointment when it wasn't his brother, but his best friend instead.

"Yamaguchi, what is it?" He answered.

" _Tsukki! How are you?"_

"…I'm fine."

" _Any news from Akiteru?"_  He asked, his voice a little less enthusiastic.

"Nothing."

" _I see…"_

"Yamaguchi, are you the one who talked to Suga-san about this?"

" _He talked to you then…?"_

"Why did you do that?"

" _Because I know you're burying yourself under tons of work instead of… I don't know, taking some time for yourself with your family."_

Kei clicked his tongue in slight annoyance, but his chest warmed up knowing his friend had his back.

" _With everything that's happening right now, there are so many people who have died or are injured, the hospitals are overwhelmed. Everyone is in shock…"_

"Is everyone in your family safe?"

" _Yes, luckily… Look… I'm sorry I talked to Suga-san without telling you, but… you need a break. Even without these events, you haven't taken a holiday in forever and only because you were forced by Akiteru to visit him in the America. And… I'm sure Akiteru is fine."_

"What makes you think so?"

" _Just a feeling!"_

Not for the first time, Kei envied his friend's ability to follow his gut instead of following his mind like Kei usually did.

" _Do you want to go out? We could grab a drink, or go watch a movie or something…"_

"Thank you for your attempt at a distraction, Yamaguchi," he said with the slightest of smile, "I'll rest tonight, but maybe this week-end."

" _Okay! Rest well, Tsukki! Stay safe!"_

"…You too."

Kei decided to prepare himself some food, but after a quick look into his fridge, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had forgotten to get groceries.

Grabbing his wallet and frowning to show his overall distaste of life, he went out to the closest grocery store. He didn't notice that someone had followed him. It was only when he came back home and noticed someone leaning nonchalantly against  _his_  motorbike that he frowned even more. He initially assumed it was a random guy just waiting for someone and having no regard for others' belongings, but the guy's brown eyes were staring right at him.

"Tsukishima Kei?" He called knowingly, unmoving.

"…Should I know you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

He tensed up despite himself, his brother's screams over the phone still echoing in his mind.

"No, but I want to ask you a few questions." He continued, finally pushing himself off Kei's motorbike and pulling out some ID from his inside pocket, "Oikawa Tooru, private detective. It's about the meteors."

Kei stopped breathing and glanced around quickly. There was no one in the street. His reaction had been subtle, but this Oikawa guy still caught it and spoke up, with an easy-going, quite fake, and annoying smile.

"Don't worry. You're not in trouble, and it's only you and me right now." He said, waving his hand nonchalantly while his other hand came onto his hip.

"…I'm just a local reporter. Everything you need to know about these meteors you can read in our newspaper." Kei said, continuing to walk towards his building entrance.

Oikawa stared at him, hands in his pockets, then he spoke up again.

"And what about your brother's disappearance?"

Kei froze, the keys remaining in mid-air. Slowly, he turned around and stared with narrowed eyes at Oikawa who continued, expression serious.

"You and I both know those weren't 'meteors' that fell down that night, and that the government is covering up their dirty secrets. Your brother might have been the first victim, but many more will come. Moreover, I know you went  _there_  that night."

Kei kept frowning at him, then he looked away, clicking his tongue. His heart was thundering in his chest. He was desperate to get any information on his brother's whereabouts and whatever this detective might know, but what if it was a trick and he was just falling right into a trap? What if… his parents would have two sons to mourn?

"Hypothetically, if I know anything, what makes you think I would trust you?" He asked in a hard voice.

"You've got balls to mistrust me when you're a reporter and you've probably hidden everything from everyone you know~! As for trusting  _me_ , I have no proof to give you, but if you want to know anything without getting killed, you have no choice but to trust me."

Kei stared at him, realizing that this guy had figured him out within seconds. How much had he dug up about him anyway? How much did he know? Could he really be trusted? He probably shouldn't–

" _You_ _ **must**_ _reveal the truth to everyone! Do you understand, Kei?_ _ **You have to!"**_

He turned sharply towards Oikawa.

"You have thirty seconds to convince me that you  _do_  know something I don't."

He raised an eyebrow, unshaken by the order.

"I know who caused your brother to disappear."

Kei stared at him with widened eyes, unbelieving these words. It was– there was no way…

"…If you  _swear_  to share with me  _everything_  you know…" He started, sounding threatening.

"I swear~! And no one is more pure and honest than me~!" Oikawa said with his usual cheesy smile.

"That sounds like a lie."

"Don't judge me so fast, glasses-kun~!"

"I have a name."

"Yes, yes~! Let's go, shall we?" Oikawa continued, pushing him towards the door.

Kei glared at him, but when he noticed Oikawa glancing around quickly, he realised that it was probably best to not remain outside so long.

Once inside his apartment, Kei remained tense as Oikawa did a quick tour, checking to make sure that there was nothing and no one in sight in other buildings that might prove to be dangerous.

"Are you being followed or something?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but let's not take any risk. It'd be a waste to lose a pretty face such as mine."

Kei rolled his eyes with passion, irked off beyond measure by this guy.

"If you have any weapons, remove them," Kei said, pointing at a table that was far away enough from them and out of reach.

Oikawa turned towards him once again, raising an offended eyebrow. But he shrugged and opened his coat, taking off the gun hidden at his hip. Then, he took off a tiny one that was at his ankle, under his pants.

"You know I don't need a gun to kill you if I need to."

"That's not the way to get me to trust you." Kei said, urging him to move away from his guns.

Oikawa was so relaxed, it was hard not to let his guard down and it was annoying Kei – he couldn't tell if he was genuine or just an excellent actor.

"Now tell me everything you know," Kei ordered, "Who– what happened to my brother?"

"Calm down. First of all, you tell me what  _you_  know." Oikawa said, unflinching as he sat down in a comfortable chair.

"That's not what we agreed on."

"We didn't agree on any order. But if you want to play the stubborn tough guy wannabe, I have pleeeeenty of time to wait for you to comply. Your  _brother_ , on the other hand, I'm not sure he has such time." He said very calmly.

Kei frowned, but sat down reluctantly, pissed off by this pompous guy. He'd better have good information on his brother or he'll use his own guns to murder him right here.

Oikawa smirked, as if he knew what he was thinking – he probably had this effect on  _everyone_.

"My brother works at NASA as a biochemist. He was working on a project to stop Global Warming. It's confidential and we never knew any details about it."

"Strange that something as great as a project to stop Global Warming would be  _confidential_ ," Oikawa commented with a shrug.

It had never occurred to Kei that it was strange indeed. There was so much pressure from the public and all the conservation organizations that if such a program was being developed they would have shared it.

"He called the night of the meteor. He was panicking and told me that he had found something terrible and that he was sending me all the information. Some people came in and… I heard fighting and screams… Then the line was cut." He explained, voice tight – it was the first time he was telling this to anyone and it was harder than he would have thought.

Oikawa remained silent (for once), respecting his pain.

"Then I received some files about something called the OWL Project. I have no idea what it is and not everything was sent."

"Did you cover your tracks?" Oikawa asked, tense.

"Yeah, I changed my IP address and saved everything on various… You'll know more later. I then noticed the meteor. I realized it was linked to what had happened to my brother."

"And you went to the crash site," Oikawa finished, surprising Kei.

To answer his silent question, he took out some papers from the inside pocket of his coat. He threw them across the desk and Kei picked them up, frowning. These were photography of him, the night of the meteor, driving through the forest.

"You're lucky the army is so damn confident they didn't bother to look behind them or to cover up their tracks."

"How did you get that?"

"I'm the one who took these pictures," Oikawa answered with a shrug.

Kei looked up, the man's chocolate eyes were hard as stone. He wasn't as nonchalant as he appeared.

"You were there that night…" Kei realized, blinking, "If you were there, what do you need from me? You didn't seem surprised by anything I said about my brother."

"Well, all we know is that your brother was working on a  _confidential_  project and that he ended up sending you files to clear his conscience and he was…  _silenced_  because of his righteous acts. Then, this meteor happened. It's probably linked, but there is no way to know how without a look at said-files or more information. As for the meteor crash site… I was there, but I was stopped by the army.  _You_  weren't though."

Realization appeared on Kei's face, his eyes shining as understanding filled them. He set down the pictures on the table.

"You want to know what I saw, don't you?"

"Aren't you a clever boy?"

"…You're going to be disappointed because there was nothing to see… not really."

"Not  _really?_  That's enough for me. Tell me what you saw that night – it might change everything, especially for your brother." Oikawa said, suddenly leaning forward.

Kei stared at him, still not fully trusting him, but… he turned on his computer screen to let him have a look at all the pictures and videos he had taken that night. Oikawa looked at everything, his eyes wide and reflecting the computer screen as if it was imprinting all the information directly into his brain.

"That's not a meteor," he said in a sharp voice.

And even though it was obvious enough, the way he said it sent shivers down Kei's spine. Whatever first impressions he had had on that Oikawa, he had been wrong.

"Can I see the files he sent you?"

"…Before that… you said you knew who had made my brother disappear. Tell me…" He said, his voice almost pleading.

He felt as weak as if he had left his chest open for the man to stab him straight into his beating heart. But Oikawa took a deep breath and leaned into his chair.

"I think you have a good idea of what happened. We've all seen  _who_  has been handling this catastrophe with the meteor – NASA  _and_  the army. Of course the Japanese army was the one to handle it here, but it's on a global scale with every national army taking care of covering up everything. If your brother discovered something he shouldn't have and had a hand in sharing confidential information… the army has never been very forgiving."

Kei looked down, unsatisfied with this vague response. He had hoped for a  _name_. But then, what? Would he have just gone to that man to get revenge? Get answers? Try to understand?  _Then what?_

"I don't know the details of what's going on in America, but I know who is responsible for covering up everything in Japan."

He took out another picture and showed a photograph of a tall and broad man with short hair and a stern look on his face.

"This is Major General Ushijima Wakatoshi. He's the one who came that night and handled everything. All I could find was that he comes from a military family, well recognized by the army and the emperor… He was basically born a soldier and is one of the most eminently ranked soldiers of Japan as of now. No surprise he was given the responsibility to handle all that. He's the one I need to find information on, as well as the truth of what happened that night."

Kei glanced at Oikawa whose eyes looked as dangerous as a predator set on prey it was hunting, for years if necessary.

_Ushijima Wakatoshi. Major General… Nii-san, what did you get yourself into…?_

"May I look at the information your brother sent you?"

Kei's fingers trembled over his lap, but finally, he turned the screen back to Oikawa. He drank in all the information as if he had crossed the desert for days without a drop of water.

"One last thing," Oikawa said once he was satisfied with all the information he had collected and the many more questions he had asked Kei, "You are The Moon from the Tokyo News, right?"

Kei froze and blinked, shocked he knew his pen name. Very few people knew this and they could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

"How do you–"

"Come on, it's not that hard to figure out. Once you know that some reporter from the Tokyo News is named  _Tsuki_ shima, the link is quickly made. More importantly, the Tokyo News is popular because it doesn't go by the usual conventions of the media. It's independent, and follows its own rules and wishes, even if it displeases the governments. That's why everyone working there uses a pseudonym, right, The Moon? And you seem like the type of guy who  _loves_  stinging others with biting words, right?" Oikawa said with a knowing smile.

"Get to the point," he mumbled annoyingly.

"I want you to reveal the truth. Whenever something comes up, whenever we find something new – I want you to share it with the world." Oikawa said with a serious look on his face.

Kei stared at him, his heart beating hard – revealing the truth… this was what his brother had asked him.

" _You_ _ **must**_ _reveal the truth to everyone! Do you understand, Kei?_ _ **You have to!"**_

They were his last words, his last wishes…

"I know more than anyone else that you are concerned with the truth, and you will have no remorse saying what needs to be said. If I find any information worth sharing, I'll send it to you. Don't quote your source, but… I know that the Tokyo News, and  _you_ , The Moon, will be trusted by the world."

He glanced over the window, narrowing his eyes and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"They take us for fools… but they don't know what's coming. They might have brought down a catastrophe from the skies, but something  _grand_  might rise out of it."

"…I didn't think you were the inspirational speech type of guy…" Kei remarked in a low voice.

Oikawa turned to him with an amused smirk.

"There are many things you don't know about me."

He stood up, gathering his coat and his guns, and all the information he had collected.

"So, we're associates?" He asked, showing him his hand.

Kei hesitated, then stood up and shook his hand.

"I guess we are… for my brother."

"For the truth." He said, squeezing his hand a little tighter.

Kei kept his lips thin as Oikawa left the apartment, staring at the ceiling as the darkness filled the room.

He grabbed his phone and called his boss.

"Suga-san? I thought about what you said… I think I'll take those days off after all…"

" _No problem! Take as much time as you need, Tsukki!"_

"…Don't call me that."

" _You love it when I call you that."_

"No, I don't."

Suga laughed good-heartedly, then wished him good luck. Kei ended the call with a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

He had no idea what to expect with this whole story… but Oikawa was probably right – something was about to change. For better or worse, it was yet to be decided.

Kei wasn't contacted by Oikawa for weeks, long enough that he assumed the detective had forgotten about him. It all changed when he received a single message.

" _People are disappearing, look into it."_

He was more annoyed by the balls that guy had to send him an order as their first message than he was distraught by these words… but the following day, he overheard a conversation during lunch.

"I haven't heard from my brother in days… I hope he's okay."

"Yeah… me too… and have you seen Misa-chan from accounting lately?"

"Eh…? Now that you mention it…"

Kei looked away from the two guys then stared into his coffee without seeing it. People were disappearing… right?

He went directly into his boss' office, knocking only to announce his arrival.

"Suga-san," he said, blinking when he saw that he wasn't alone, "…Sawamura-san."

He nodded as salutation then turned towards his boss who sighed.

"I'll go. Be careful." Daichi, saluting them both.

He closed the door behind him and Kei turned back towards Suga-san, frowning.

"Careful? You're not in danger, are you? Or did you finally piss off the wrong person?"

"I'm fine. Daichi was just telling me about some cases he has to handle. Not an easy one apparently…"

Kei paused, barely hesitating before speaking up.

"Cases about missing people?"

Suga-san straightened up at once, his eyes shining.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I want to look into it and write an article about it."

Suga hesitated, passing a hand over his face then standing up.

"That's risky. After that meteor mess, people will freak out."

"They need to know the truth," he said.

"I don't deny it," Suga answered, turning back towards his friend, "Which is why I'm giving you the thumbs up to do so. But, remember–"

"–To talk to their hearts, I know," Kei finished, nodding, "You've been drilling this into my head for years now."

"That's the secret of our newspapers." He said with a cheerful wink.

Many people said that the Tokyo News had no rules, but they were wrong. They had two rules: 1) always telling the  _absolute truth_  no matter how hard, shameful, or sad, and 2) but talk to the  _people's hearts_.

Getting into the Tokyo News was hard and an honour because you needed to have a good résumé, experience,  _and_  impress the three editors. Kei had always had good grades and had a good résumé, but he lacked experience and his tendency to be snarky and sarcastic had gotten him on the wrong side of two of these editors. He was certain he would have to look into another newspaper or whatever when he received a call. Sugawara Koushi, the head editor, had convinced the two other editors to give him a chance.

" _You're young and inexperienced, which is why you'll look at things differently. You'll see what needs to be seen and we already know you don't hold back when saying what you want to say. You have an honest heart, Tsukishima-kun. It's a curse and a blessing in our profession, which is why I want to encourage you to continue. As for that salty tongue of yours… it has a gift for words. Have you tried sweetening it a little in an article?"_

Kei had never told Suga-san, nor anyone else, about this, but he had felt honoured and grateful he had been given a chance. Suga-san had seen in him a gift for reporting, for telling the absolute truth, and despite his sharp tongue, he had been convinced he could talk to people's hearts. Ever since, his articles had only been getting better and better.

So Kei started looking into the missing people cases. The police were trying to keep it quiet and despite Oikawa's information, it wasn't much. But when he talked to people… everyone knew a friend, a family member, a neighbour who had gone missing… So, despite the lack of information, Kei wrote the truth no one else wanted to face.

The article became one of the most read from the Tokyo News in only twelve hours. It was shared on every social network and crowds gathered in police stations, asking for answers. It didn't take long for Sawamura Daichi, Suga-san's good friend, to barge into the Tokyo News and slam the door. It was rare that these two argued, but when they did, it was worse than a typhoon.

Most of the Tokyo News team was just waiting outside the office, staring at the shadows moving back and forth and trying to understand the smothered yelling. The moment the door opened, everyone jumped into action, pretending that they hadn't been eavesdropping at all. Daichi was still furious and he made a beeline to the exit, not even glancing in Tsukishima's direction.

Kei's eyes followed him as he left. He seemed furious, but also incredibly stressed and exhausted… It hadn't been nice to him, but the people deserved the truth. No matter how hard, or shameful, or sad. He glanced in Suga's direction who was still fuming. He glanced at him and he understood the silent order. Kei stood up and went into his boss' office.

"…Is this the article getting me fired?" He asked, raising an eyebrow even though he knew the answer.

"AH!?" Suga exclaimed, turning around with a vicious expression on his face that was unusual, "No way you're getting fired for telling the truth! Daichi is just furious because it makes things harder for him! But the people deserved the truth! He'll get over it, don't mind him–" he continued, waving his hand nonchalantly, "But more importantly, the mayor has decided to give a speech in two weeks. It'll be to calm the people and give them all the information they'll have about the missing people by then."

"I guess I'll be the one to cover it then."

"You're the one who brought up the missing people, so yeah, you'll go and cover it. I guess Daichi and the mayor are hoping that an article from  _you_  will appease the people even more – but no matter what happens, tell the truth. Like always."

Kei looked down at the paper with the information written on it.

_Two weeks later…_

The mayor's speech started like any other speech, but it was quickly obvious that there was no information about the missing people cases.

"Despite the various assumptions and accusations that were brought up over the last few weeks, I can assure you that the missing people have nothing to do with the space station accident. Our police force is–"

Kei was in the middle of the crowd of journalists and reporters, waiting for something juicy to be said when suddenly, a line of cars exploded. Everyone cried out, some stood up, others tried to hide behind their chairs. Kei turned towards the smoking cars, a wall of fire rising from it. There were more gasps and cries when a man walked out of the fire.

"LIES!" He shouted.

He looked scorched, but he was walking normally, as if unfazed by the heat and the flames. His veins were glowing under his skin, looking like lava under the Earth, but he remained perfectly human-looking.

"Look what you did to me! You LIARS!" The man shouted once again.

He lifted up his hands and flames appeared.

Kei knew that many people were filming right now – cameramen as well as curious bystanders who were too shocked to think of running away – but he took out his own camera and started filming everything he could. It was– it was insane! It was like a superhero comic book or something!

"You did this to me!"

The man threw a ball of flames towards the stage and the crowd of journalists. It exploded and everyone shouted, taking cover and starting to run away. The police helped the mayor run away and out of view, while the group of journalists and curious people ran away.

Kei was dragged by the crowd, but he quickly managed to escape it and ran to take cover under an arched hallway at the other side of the square – this way he could see everything happening. He would not miss a single second of this event!

Several policemen arrived, putting themselves behind opened car doors, and they took out their guns. Indistinct orders were shouted, probably to convince the man to stop, but he shook his head.

"Bring me my life back!"

He threw more fire at the policemen. Most jumped around and ran away as the cars exploded.

For the last few weeks, the public was worried that the missing people were linked to the night of the meteor. The few people who had tried to come up with the possible consequences for humans impacted by that meteor had been quickly smothered and ignored – The Moon had written an article about this not long after the events of the meteor.  _And now_ … now it was  _happening!_  Everyone's worst, unsaid fears were becoming reality!  _This_  wasn't normal, a man with fire powers was claiming his life back as lies upon lies were being shared to cover up the ugly truth – the meteor  _did_  have consequences on the humans, but the question was to what extent? How many? What–

Military trucks suddenly arrived. They quickly surrounded the perimeter all around the man. He looked around, looking a little confused and scared before randomly sending fire balls to the military trucks. He managed to make two explode, forcing some soldiers to jump away and take cover, but quickly, the rest of the soldiers acted and shot him.

Kei startled at the sudden, ringing sound of the gun shot. It was such a different, deafening sound compared to the burning of cars all around.

One of the soldiers ran to the dangerous man as the wind spread the fire. He made a sign to his colleagues after confirming the death of the man.

A minute later, when journalists and reporters, including Kei, tried to get closer, the soldiers forced them away. They expanded the security perimeter and it was soon impossible to find out anything else. His phone rang and he didn't have to look at the name to know who it was.

"I'm on the way back to the newspapers' headquarters," he said, going towards his motorbike.

" _That was… this is ground-breaking, Tsukki,"_  Suga said, voice shaky.

Even though everyone had seen what had happened live, the Moon's article was another success. He was the only one who didn't call this man an 'anomaly' and actually respectfully called him what he really was: a victim of the meteor.

Of course, panic ensued, but it was far from being enough to distract Kei. Once again, he went over all the files his brother had sent him, hoping to find some new clues in light of the recent events… but nothing new came up.

Then, another accident happened: the collapsing building. At first, it was just an unfortunate accident caused by a gas explosion - but Kei went there anyway. He wasn't disappointed. He witnessed the appearance of the first heroes of this new era. Of course it was only right that the Moon was the one to share the truth with the world. _"A New Era of Villains and Heroes: The new hero of Tokyo who rose from the ashes of that building and rode into the night, stealthy as a night owl."_

Kei knew it was just a question of time before this hero, called Nite Owl on social media, would make another appearance. So he managed to convince Oikawa to get him on a police line – without anyone knowing, of course. And he started spending some hours at night, following petty crimes and events, hoping that heroes and villains would appear, and make the night more interesting. It was partly in order to write an article about this Nite Owl and put him as the hero of the city – but Kei also hoped that these superhumans would know something he didn't, something that would help his brother…

That was why Kei ended up following a series of bank robberies by a villain who could melt metal – and soon Nite Owl appeared. He took pictures and was determined to find clues about this man, his powers, and the truth of what had happened to him. He wasn't sure why he was being so reckless when he drove around without trying to cover up his tracks, but it made following him easier for Kei. He realised that he was actually just a big idiot the moment he took off his mask in front of his building.

_Oh no, he's just stupid_. He realised, already feeling annoyed by the goofiness he could feel emanating from him. He took a picture of the unmasked hero, which attracted his attention at once, his golden eyes were shining like a predator's in the night.

"We need to talk." Kei said in a stern voice.

The hero stared at him. Then he punched him.

_A few hours later, at the research facility…_

"Why would you punch him, you idiot?!"

"I panicked! I didn't want to hurt him! Is he going to wake up?"

"I don't  _know!_  His face has become a purple watermelon and I'm a  _chemist_ , not a doctor! What if he got a concussion?!"

"That would be terrible!"

"Shouldn't we send him to the hospital, then?"

"But he knows Bokuto's identity, perhaps we should just keep him here and hope for the best."

"Kenma, we are not going to  _wait_  for him to wake up or die–!"

The voices resonated in Kei's head, which felt quite rightly like a watermelon at the moment. He tried opening his eyes, but white, blinding lights convinced him to keep them shut.

"AH! He's waking up!"

Everyone turned silent – such a blessing. Sweet silence, finally.

But Kei struggled to open his eyes or make any sound… everything hurt and his head was pounding – what had happened, he didn't even remember…?

After agonising seconds where he just hoped he'd go back to unconsciousness, he finally started opening his eyes. He glanced to his side. Everyone was blurry, but he could distinguish four silhouettes.

"He's alive! Thank goodness!"

The voice was so loud that it physically hurt his head. It felt like he received another punch just from that voice.

"You're too loud, Bokuto! Hey, moon-guy, you're okay?"

Before he could answer, some idiot put a flashlight into his eyes. He groaned and it finally got him to move, pushing away the man's hand. After the spotlights stopped dancing in front of his eyes, Kei finally distinguished him and his crazy hair. He glanced at the others. The hero was here, and two quiet guys, one with long, dyed hair, the other rather plain, but ridiculously handsome.

"…Who the fuck are you?" He asked, voice raspy.

"I'll take that as a yes. No sign of a concussion as far as I can tell," the rooster-head said.

"Well, that's reassuring…" The blond-dyed one said, sounding slightly mocking.

The rooster glared at him, but the plain one spoke up.

"Our friend here, um, punched you. We apologize for the trouble he caused you, but I'm sure we can come to an agreement…"

"An agreement to remain silent on what you know, uh…" Rooster continued, trying to appear threatening.

Kei finally noticed the expensive suit the plain guy was wearing just as he casually took out a check book.

"How much would be enough–"

"Are you seriously trying to  _pay_  me to stay silent on who Nite Owl is? I made you who you are. If it weren't for my article, you'd be considered a freak, like all these other superhuman."

They all froze and stared at him warily. Kei started sitting up and let his legs go over the side of the bed. He looked around – he was in a white room that looked like a hospital, but he definitely wasn't in a hospital. It was…

"Where am I?"

"Do you really expect us to answer any of your questions?" Blond-dye asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're at an abandoned research facility that Akaashi owns," Nite Owl said, pointing at the rich guy.

"Bokuto-san! You can't say that so casually! It's not safe!" He exclaimed with wide eyes.

"I punched him and put him through all this trouble! It's the least we can do! I don't think he means to cause us any harm!" Bokuto exclaimed defensively, "I'm sure he can be trusted!"

"He's a reporter, he's  _the Moon_. He's the one who writes all those articles." Blond-dye said.

Kei vaguely wondered how they knew, but he patted his pockets and didn't find his wallet nor phone.

"Here is your stuff," Rooster said, handing him all of his items, "We only looked at your identity to figure out who you were."

"That's why I think he can be trusted," Bokuto continued with a confident smile, "He's the Moon, the one who writes the truth – he must be a very honest guy, then!"

Kei snorted, which attracted the others' attention on him.

"Don't confuse my job with my personality."

"So we can't trust you," Blond dye concluded.

"I didn't say that. You shouldn't trust anyone if you're trying to do what I think you're doing."

"And pray tell us, what would that be?" Akaashi asked calmly.

"You three are helping him be a hero because he's got some sort of super-strength… it appeared after the meteor, didn't it? You're helping out as many people as you can because you have the strength to do it and he's too stubborn to listen to you three. At the same time, I suppose you're trying to find out everything you can about this 'meteor' and what happened that night…"

They all glanced at each other.

"That's pretty accurate actually…" Rooster said.

"Then, have you heard about the OWL Project?" Kei asked.

They all reacted instantly, their eyes sharpening at the mention of the name. Kei smirked, a smile full of sweet, sweet satisfaction.

"What do you know about the OWL Project?" Blond-dye asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"You've obviously heard about it, so let me repeat what I told you before you punched me…" He continued, turning towards Bokuto, "We need to talk."

Before they talked though, they made sure he would stay alive and wouldn't suffer terrible consequences from Bokuto's powerful punch. Kei grimaced when he saw his face, purple and swollen from his punch. Then they sat down around a table for a good cup of tea and a well-deserved talk.

Kei explained his story: his brother's call, the files he had sent him, his 'investigation' into find out the truth, and how he had ended up involved in the middle of this whole mess… Then it was Bokuto's turn to tell his story, even though there wasn't much Kei hadn't already figured out or expected.

"I was hoping you would have more information than me, that you could help me, that we could help each other find out the truth…" Kei said in the end.

"I doubt we have much more information, unfortunately. We know about the same as you. But… once you find the truth… what will you do with it?"

"I'll share it with the world. This is what I do, and it's what my brother wanted me to do." Kei answered without hesitating.

They glanced at each other, then Rooster – or Kuroo by his real name – spoke up.

"We don't really mind the truth being brought up to the world, but it will have consequences. I'm sure you are aware of the consequences it will have for society, for the world, but on a more personal level…"

"You don't want me to say anything about your group of heroes. I won't share your real identity, I won't give anything away that might put any of you in danger. If anything… I might even be able to protect you."

"What do you mean by that?" Akaashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"People trust the military because they handle things well and rapidly, but they also trust  _me_ , the Moon, for telling the absolute truth. The army might try to find or stop you, but if I tell the people you're the rightful hero of our city… they will believe me and won't want you stopped. There is no greater power than the people."

They glanced at each other, trying to figure out what to do about this journalist who knew so much about them… but it wasn't like they could do much about his knowledge. They couldn't force him to remain silent, but if they had him as an ally…

"So we'll work together?" Akaashi concluded.

"We have the same goal, don't we?" Kei said with a shrug.

"…It's not like we can do anything about him knowing Bokuto's identity, or where he lives… and we've sort of talked about everything at this point. We should trust him…" Kuroo conceded.

"Hold on. To prove he can be trusted…would you share your brother's files with us?" Kenma asked once they were done talking.

Kei shrugged, and handed him a usb drive. He had already told them everything they needed to know.

Kenma hesitated, but took the usb drive and disappeared into another room. Kuroo and Akaashi both decided to accompany him to check on the files, but Bokuto remained with Kei.

"Sorry about that, by the way," he said, pointing at the vague purple form that had become his face.

"…It could be worse, I guess… I don't have a concussion, at least."

"Ah ah! Right, you don't! Don't worry about the guys. They seem mistrustful right now, but they'll come around. They're just a little nervous recently with everything that's happening."

He smiled, as confident as when he had claimed he trusted Kei earlier.

"Why do you trust me so much? I could give everything away as soon as I want to… You have no reason to believe I don't want to use all this knowledge for my own sake."

"If you had any ill-intent, you wouldn't say such a thing. You'd try to be a pleasing sort of guy, but you're still yourself, honest, even if it's offensive to people. I like honesty. And after everything you told me… you have even more reason than any of us to be looking for the truth." Bokuto said with a serious look on his face, "I'm sorry for what happened to your brother. I hope we'll be able to help him…"

"…Why did you decide to become a hero?" Kei asked, narrowing his eyes, "You're risking your life to save people, to fight villains and crime, and the army will eventually try to stop you… Why take such risks?"

"Because who else will take the risks if not me?" He said, as easily as if he was talking about breathing, "I was given these powers. It must mean that I  _can_  and  _should_  do something with it. I can't stay still when facing suffering, so I'm making sure I help as many people as I can, with the powers I was given."

"It sounds a little simple to me…" Kei commented, realizing yet again that he was just a simple-minded guy.

"Not everything has to be complicated. It's a simple matter, with a simple solution." He said with an enthusiastic grin.

Kei stared at him, confused and shaken by his absolute confidence.

Before anything else could be said though, a whooshing sound whistled by, a few papers flew, and an excited voice spoke up.

"Bokuto-san! I just received the message! Is everything okay with the guy you punched?!"

"Hinata! There you are! He's fine! Look at him!"

Hinata turned with an eager grin towards Tsukishima, but startled and lost his smile when he noticed the state half of his face was in and the fact that he was glaring at him.

"Oh… hi… he looks… good… Is he okay?" He asked in a whisper, but he didn't control his voice so Kei heard anyway.

"Kuroo says he is, so he must be!"

"That's… not reassuring." Kei intervened.

"So! What are we going to do about him now that he knows about our secret headquarters and secret identities?! Should we kill him? Erase his memory? Tell me what to do, and I will!" He exclaimed with an enthusiasm on par with Bokuto's.

"Ah ah! I expected no less from you, my lil' disciple! But nothing of the sort! He's our ally now!"

"Ooooh! Really?! So cool! Welcome on the team, then!" Hinata continued, turning towards Kei once again, sparkling.

Kei glanced between the two, Bokuto looking so damn proud of the small kid.

"…Is he your secret lovechild?"

"Wha– I don't have a child!"

"OI! Glasses-kun! I'm twenty-five years old!" He exclaimed, jumping up and down, as if it'd prove his age.

"Eh? So am I… Your growth spurt never happened, then?"

"W-what the…! How dare you…?!"

Kei stood up slowly, and looked down at Hinata, smirking at the sight of him pale and raging from his small stature.

"Y-you wanna fight, uh?" He continued in a weak voice, trying to be threatening.

"No need. I've already won the fight of heights." He answered with a smirk.

"G-guh…! I-I may be small…! But I can jump high! And I'm fast! Super fast!"

"Good for you. Perhaps you'll be able to compensate for your small height with that speed of yours, uh?"

Hinata whipped towards Bokuto, a big pout on his face. There was no need for words to be expressed out loud. Both Bokuto and Tsukishima understood what he meant to say.

_I don't like him!_

"Oi, Tsukki, you've got some nasty personality there," Bokuto commented with an amused smile.

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment! You stingy! Stingyshima!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Don't call me that."

"Stingyshima!"

Kei rolled his eyes, but winced when his swollen eye started hurting. It reminded Bokuto and Hinata that for better or worse, he was hurt because of Bokuto's panic, and that he was now their ally.

"Let's go see what the others got from your brother's files, okay?" Bokuto said, pushing them both out of the room to smooth the animosity between them.

They joined the other three who were discussing the OWL Project files, seeing what they could do with what Kenma had collected before it had been locked away, and comparing the results.

"It completes what we already had, but there's nothing new… Too many parts and files are missing. I suppose it's everything I couldn't gather before NASA locked the OWL Project into a super-protected space I can't get to, and everything your brother didn't have time to send before…"

Kenma's voice trailed off. They all glanced a little nervously at Kei, afraid to have hit a nerve, but he remained poker faced.

"Then… there is nothing new…" He concluded, disappointed.

"It doesn't mean it's over though. We need to keep studying these files. Maybe we'll find something that will take us to the next step. And maybe in the future we'll encounter some new information that will guide us to the truth." Kuroo said in an encouraging way.

"We can't lose hope yet," Akaashi said with a smile.

Kei stared at the group of friends who were struggling to maintain a semblance of sense in their wannabe-vigilante work… but without a doubt, he saw  _heroes_.

"You're right…" He agreed, smiling lightly.

They smiled even more, until Kuroo stretched.

"It's been a long night and my bed is calling me. I can already hear Sawamura's scolding when he sees me arriving late again. Let's go home, everyone."

"You could just arrive on time for once," Akaashi suggested, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice.

"And sleep  _less?_  No thank you."

"Hey, Kenma! Is my hero costume almost ready?!" Hinata asked in excitement, jumping around the quiet guy.

"Almost. We'll have to run a few tests before letting you put it on in public though."

"Waaah! So cool!"

They all went their separate ways, and Kei realised that he had no idea where he was or if he had his motorbike around…

"Hey! Tsukki! I'll drive you back home. It's the least I could do after punching you!" Bokuto exclaimed when he noticed that he was absent minded.

"Ah… thank you." He said, bowing lightly.

Bokuto laughed it off, and a few minutes later, in the car, he spoke up again.

"Hey, why did you become a journalist?" He asked.

Kei blinked, realizing that he had never really asked himself such a thing. No one had asked him why he had started journalism studies, or had gotten into a job that required so much human interaction and honesty when he was hissing at the very idea of human contact.

He pondered this question, looking through the window, and seeing the pale light of morning illuminating the sky, as if chasing the darkness away. He remembered as a kid, when he was scared of the dark, his brother would stay with him and distract him by reading some articles in the science magazine they received every month. He loved the magazine and he loved all the articles. He had always preferred reading articles, just a few pages of amazing discoveries and human facts, rather than novels about how much disaster, chaos, and sadness humans could create. Articles had this simplicity that Kei found reassuring, it reminded him that after all, humans were very simple beings who could still make extraordinary things.

" _Not everything has to be complicated. It's a simple matter, with a simple solution."_

"I guess… I just didn't want to be scared of the dark…" He answered.

Bokuto blinked at this strange answer he couldn't understand. But when he noticed Kei's light smile, he didn't ask any question and smiled as well.

The next article from the Moon was his biggest success, but he wasn't surprised. It was an article on Nite Owl, and as simple as it was, people loved extraordinary heroes. He hoped Bokuto would be up to the task, but he didn't have to worry about it. He already was a great hero. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think!
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	7. Lucky Charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who commented and reacted to this fanfiction! :D

 

FANFICTION 

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES 

CHAPTER VII : Lucky Charm 

" _Life is locomotion. If you're not moving you're not living. But there comes a time when you've got to stop running away from things and you've got to start running towards something. You've got to forge ahead. Keep moving even if your path isn't clear. Trust that you'll find your way."_

―  **The Flash**

"She is just so cute, but I can't speak to her… Do you think I should?" Yamaguchi asked his best friend very seriously, but with the tiniest bit of apprehension in his eyes.

"U-uh…" Kei answered, distracted by a message he received on his phone, "Yeah, totally."

"Really?!"

"I gotta… go…"

Yamaguchi blinked, surprised by his absent minded reaction. Kei realised this and quickly tried to cover it up.

"Work. An emergency,  _apparently_."

"Then, I won't hold you back. Have a good day, Tsukki!" He exclaimed, waving at his friend.

Kei went to his motorbike, climbed on it, and quickly started the engine, going as fast as possible to the abandoned facility that served as headquarters, or as Bokuto and Hinata had started calling it, the "Nest". Ridiculous. And they were supposed to be Tokyo's greatest heroes…

When he arrived, he quickly went to the main communication room where the whole team was already gathered.

"What's going on? You said it was an emergency?" He asked hurriedly.

"Well, not really, but we knew you'd ignore the message if we didn't say it were one," Kuroo said with a nonchalant shrug.

Kei froze, feeling new emotions of rage he didn't know had been hiding in the depths of his soul.

"We apologize, but we thought you might be able to help us with brainstorming. We've upgraded Bokuto-san's and Hinata-kun's hero costumes, but there is something that needs to be discussed."

"I want to learn how to fight!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Me too!" Hinata added enthusiastically.

"What do you mean?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got strength and speed, and Hinata is  _insanely_  quick – but we don't know how to defend ourselves, or properly fight. We need to learn, so we're able to stop more villains. The last time was… delicate."

Kei remembered the story he had covered for the two heroes just a couple of days ago: a super villain had showed up in a mall, which had ended up in a pathetic fight and a pursuit through the crowded mall. They had discovered that their hero costumes were in serious need of non-skid shoes. They had caught the villain eventually, and delivered him to the police, but it had been obvious they were still struggling to be effective.

"If a villain with more experience in fighting shows up, we wouldn't be able to keep up. That's why we need to train." Hinata added, determination shining in his eyes.

"So we thought we'd ask someone from the police station to help us out by teaching them," Kuroo started, "But if we need to bring in someone else to the team, we need to decide together. Which is why we brought you."

"You want to add someone to the team? To teach them how to fight?"

"It's going to be necessary. The real question is  _who_  can be trusted at the police station?" Akaashi continued.

"I thought of asking Sa'amura, he's a pretty good fighter and he's pissed by all the attention this Shiratorizawa Special Force is getting. He'd help us." Kuroo answered.

Kei looked away thoughtfully while the others brainstormed. Surprisingly enough, it was Hinata who noticed first his absent minded look.

"Tsukishima?" He called.

It brought him back on earth, and the others all looked at him:

"I think I know someone who might help… and it won't be necessary to tell him that you're a superhuman."

They blinked in surprise as he started explaining.

"A few months ago, I wrote an article about a dojo led by two guys. They're pretty good, and one of them is simple-minded enough that he'd believe you're just a very tough guy, and you are a very quick one. The other one is very sharp though, but if he's distracted or absent, there shouldn't be a problem."

The others glanced at each other, then Hinata shrugged with an enthusiastic smile.

"It can't hurt to meet them, uh! I guess we'll have to hold back, right?" Bokuto said.

"You would have had to hold back regardless of who trains you, you wouldn't want to kill them." Kuroo said.

"That would be best, indeed," Akaashi agreed with an amused smile.

"Let's go, then!" Hinata exclaimed, fists thrown towards the ceiling.

They all met at the dojo which was closed at the moment from any other students. Kei called the master who let them in. What Kei wasn't expecting was for the two masters to be here.

"Welcome!" The one who had opened to them exclaimed, spreading his arms, "I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke! A rokudan master of karate-dou!"

As he delivered his sentence, he moved swiftly to show the speed and elegance of his master of the martial art.

His partner eyed him suspiciously before speaking up, way more calmly.

"And I'm Daishou Suguru, a hachidan master of karate-dou."

He struck a pose too, which made Kuroo snort, then he was elbowed by Kenma to get him to stay silent.

"Waaah! You're so cool!" Hinata exclaimed in awe, "You're like…! BAM! And WHAM! You look like a dragon and a snake!"

Tanaka and Daishou, still in the middle of their poses, glanced at each other. Then they straightened up, the first one being particularly enthusiastic.

"Really?! We look cool?! I think so too! I like the image of a dragon, powerful, swift, setting fear and awe in the hearts of its victims!"

He made some fancy movements to show what he meant, which resulted in Hinata gawking at him even more.

"Tsukishima-kun told us you were looking for martial arts teachers?" Daishou continued.

"Yes, I know you only take a few students at a time though," Kei continued.

One of the reason why he had written an article about their dojo was that they were following the old ways of teaching martial arts, and were taking very few students and the ones they saw potential in. It was in order to give them the best teaching possible, for everyone to enjoy the experience.

"We do, but with the recent events… We've lost some students, so we have room for new ones. It all depends on  _who_  is willing to become our student, though…" Daishou continued, narrowing his eyes at the group of friends.

"It's me! And Hinata here!" Bokuto said.

"You look like you work out. And you look…"

Daishou's voice trailed off when he looked at Hinata's petite figure.

"You look… enthusiastic," he said, trying not to sound rude, but it seemed to please the small guy.

"Do either of you any experience in martial arts of any kind? Or sports?"

"I played lots of sports over the years, but I mostly did volleyball back in middle-school and high-school," Bokuto answered.

"Me too! This is so cool, Bokuto-san!" Hinata exclaimed, jumping up and down enthusiastically.

Tanaka and Daishou both gasped when they saw the height he had just jumped at. The group panicked, fearing they were discovered…

"W-wow… you jump really high…" Tanaka said, blinking.

"Thank you! That's why I could play volleyball! I have a great jumping power! And lots of speed and stamina!"

Daishou narrowed his eyes, but Tanaka seemed enthusiastic at the idea of teaching such an athletic-prone student.

"So, could you teach them what they want?" Kuroo asked to quickly erase their suspicion.

Daishou opened his lips, but his partner beat him to it.

"Hell yeah! We're gonna make you super-fighters! But hey, why do you suddenly want to learn martial arts?" He asked.

"Yeah…  _why?"_  Daishou asked, obviously suspicious.

"Ah, uh!" Bokuto hesitated, glancing down at Hinata.

"B-because…!" He stammered, looking up in panic at his mentor.

Kuroo and Akaashi were panicking as well, trying to figure out a way out of that one, when Kenma spoke up for the first time since they had arrived here.

"Because you were worried about the risk of being attacked by villains or superhuman. You want to be able to defend yourself."

"YES! Yes! Exactly! That's the reason why!" Bokuto exclaimed, pointing at Kenma, "No other reason why! AH AH!"

"No other reason why!" Hinata repeated with a vivid nod.

Daishou still seemed suspicious, but Tanaka laughed, taken in by their enthusiasm, then turned towards the rest of the group.

"You all want to join then?"

"Ah-" Kuroo hesitated, glancing at his friends for help.

"Dear lord, no…" Kenma muttered under his breath.

"We would be grateful to learn from you, but we have very busy schedules and might not be able to make it to every lesson," Akaashi said.

"No." Kenma said, but he wasn't heard.

"But our friends here, who are the most worried and enthusiastic about learning under your guidance, will certainly join every class. Right, Bokuto-san? Hinata-kun?"

"A-ah… yes…"

"YES!"

"That's great, then! You can all come to tonight's class to try! If you like it, you can continue!"

"Akaashi…" Kenma hissed, sounding threatening.

"Thank you very much, Tanaka-sensei, and Daishou-sensei," Akaashi said with a grateful smile.

" _Akaashi_ …"

Despite Kenma's whines, it was decided that to not blow their cover, they would all join the class that evening. Kenma decided that one was more than enough and even though Tsukishima, Akaashi, and Kuroo spent most of the time glancing warily at Bokuto and Hinata in fear that their enthusiasm would unleash their full superhuman-potential, they enjoyed the class. The two heroes miraculously didn't mess up and maintained a power and speed that were  _mostly_  human-ish.

"I think I might actually join some classes to work out," Akaashi said at the end of the class, wiping his neck with a towel, "Having an insight on fighting might help us with the development of weapons and costumes."

"You're always so serious…" Kuroo said, leaning against the wall casually.

"You did well, I was surprised," Tsukki said, staring at the messy-haired man.

"I work for the police, we work out often. Even in the lab, we often join their training sessions to keep in shape and make sure we know how to defend ourselves."

"Will you continue the classes, Tsukishima-kun?" Akaashi asked.

"I don't think so… I have no plan on getting anywhere near danger."

"Where is Kenma? Did he leave already?" Kuroo asked suddenly, turning around.

With Kenma's departure, they started leaving one by one, going back to their lives.

_The next day, at the Ueno Zoo…_

"Bokutoooo! Could you help us carry the loads of meat to the kitchen?" One of the helpers called from the back room.

"Yeah!"

He joined them as they were putting big, heavy frozen loads of meat into wheelbarrows to transport inside and divide among the animals.

"Here, let me do it," Koutarou said when he saw a young helper struggling.

"Ah, thank you, Bokuto-san!" She exclaimed when he easily picked it from her and relieved her from the weight.

"I'll finish loading it all, you can go help the others," he said with a smile.

"All right!"

She went off and as soon as he was alone, he stopped pretending to struggle anymore and took as many packages of meat as he could, without breaking a sweat. Even before his superpower, he had been the one everyone called for help with his strength as a normal human being. He grabbed a particularly heavy-looking piece of meat and made it jump into his arms, amazed by his own power – it was all so easy now. Especially now that he could control his strength and wasn't destroying everything he touched. If he played volleyball again, he'd be a super player – if he wasn't making the balls explode, of course.

"Bokuto–"

He startled and whipped around, seeing Shirofuku staring at him with wide eyes. The big piece of meat fell down at his feet and he looked sheepishly at the head curator staring at him in disbelief.

"Shirofuku! I was just about to bring all that meat! Don't worry! I'm not lazing around!"

"…I wouldn't call  _that_  lazing around… h-how do you…?"

She pointed her pencil at the meat, then back at him and to hide his discomfort, Koutarou quickly loaded everything that was left, not realizing the speed and strength he was using. Then, he drove the wheelbarrow inside, pretending to be breathing hard. She watched him go away, blinking then decided that he was just weirder than she had initially thought.

"Bokuto-san, can you prepare the meat for the lions and tigers, please?" One of the nutritionists asked.

"Sure! Nine kilograms per lion~!" He started humming, weighing the necessary meat.

That night, and the following day, Nite Owl and The Little Giant, did some hero-work, which appeared in the newspapers once again – with the compliments of The Moon. They continued their classes at Tanaka-sensei and Daishou-sensei's dojo and often practiced together at the Nest. Akaashi, Kenma, and Kuroo started brainstorming weapon ideas for their two heroes.

Little by little, they were becoming more and more like heroes.

"Kuroo! Could you take my shift on Wednesday?" Yakkun asked at work.

"Sure, baby troubles again?"

"Become a father and we'll discuss it– actually… no, do  _not_  become a father."

"That's very rude, Yakkun," Kuroo answered, smirking.

Before they could continue to banter, Akane walked by, blinking. Then, she checked the date on her phone.

"Guys… it  _is_  Wednesday."

"Oh… but my phone is saying it's Monday…" Yaku answered, checking his.

Akane was confused and Kuroo opened his lips to say it was definitely Monday, but his brain became mush and he was unable to tell what day it was. He glanced at his phone and saw Tuesday… then it switched back to Monday.

"It's…"

"Oh, my bad," Akane said, checking her phone again, frowning to herself, "It  _is_  Monday. I guess I just want this week to be over already."

"Right…"

Kuroo waited to see if something weird would happen again, but nothing. Monday went by as usual, with Bokuto and Hinata sending intel on their karate class that evening. He went to bed exhausted and was woken up by his clock. He started his morning ritual of running, shower, breakfast with the news on.

" _Today's weather forecast is sunny, with some clouds near the end of the day!"_

It sounded awfully familiar, but he realised that it was probably because it was a weather forecast that came back often. Seeing the clock ticking by, he stood up to not be late at work – or Daichi would yell again…

"Hey! I'm off to work!" He said to Kenma who was just getting up.

"Mmm…"

Kuroo closed the door behind him as Kenma reached for a cup of coffee, but the coffee machine disappeared. His hand clasped into thin air. He blinked, but it was back.

"…I should probably go back to sleep…" He thought, narrowing his eyes at the coffee machine, but it didn't flinch.

He didn't realise that behind him, the tv was turning on and off, without any sound.

"Kuroo! Could you take my shift on Wednesday?" Yakkun asked at work.

Kuroo blinked, having a weird feeling of déjà-vu… but it was probably lack of sleep.

"Sure… Baby troubles again?"

"Become a father and we'll discuss it– actually… no, do  _not_  become a father." Yaku said.

"Do you have to keep repeating that, Yakkun?" Kuroo answered, shaking his head.

"Repeating? I've only said it this time?"

Before they could continue to banter, Akane walked by, blinking. Then, she checked the date on her phone.

"Guys… it  _is_  Wednesday."

"Oh… but my phone is saying it's Monday…" Yaku answered, checking at his.

Kuroo let his lips fall open and he checked his phone. There was written Monday, but…

"What…"

"Oh, my bad," Akane said, checking her phone again, frowning to herself, "It  _is_  Monday. I guess I just want this week to be over already."

Kuroo glanced around, his coworkers continuing their work, with the same habits and the same gestures as usual. It was normal that everything seemed repetitive, they were doing the same work every day. It was just exhausting.

Still, that evening he went to the Nest, finding Akaashi and Tsukishima there.

"Hey, what day is it?"

"It's Monday. Didn't you check your phone?" Akaashi answered.

"…Yeah, yeah, I have… I just… I've had this weird… feeling of déjà-vu… all day long…"

"It happens all the time to me," Tsukishima said with a shrug, "It's just your brain not registering new information and thinking it's something you've seen before."

"Yeah… I know…"

"Perhaps you need to rest," Akaashi suggested, "We can work on this Nite Motorbike later."

"Yeah… I think I'll do that… and I still think that MotorNite is a neat name."

"It's a terrible name," Tsukishima said, rolling his eyes.

"Bokutoooo! Could you help us carry the loads of meat to the kitchen?" One of the helpers called from the back room.

"Yeah!"

He joined them as they were putting big, heavy, frozen loads of meat into wheelbarrows to transport inside and divide among the animals.

"Here, let me do it," Koutarou said when he saw a young helper struggling.

"Ah, thank you, Bokuto-san!" She exclaimed when he easily picked it from her and relieved her from the weight.

"I'll finish loading it all, you can go help the others," he said with a smile.

"All right!"

She went off and as soon as he was alone, he stopped pretending to struggle anymore and took as many packages of meat as he could, without breaking a sweat. Even before his superpower, he had been the one everyone called for help with his strength as a normal human being. He grabbed a particularly heavy-looking piece of meat and made it jump into his arms, amazed by his own power – it was all so easy now. Especially now that he could control his strength and wasn't destroying everything he touched. If he played volleyball again, he'd be a super player – if he wasn't making the balls explode, of course.

Watching the meat go up with the bright sky behind seemed familiar and it threw him off. He caught the meat into his arms then turned around.

"Shirofuku."

She had just appeared and startled when he called her. She made an awkward smile.

"Did you hear me coming?"

"I… I think so…" He answered, frowning to himself.

"Right… Sometimes, I think you might need to be locked up with some of the animals with that crazy strength of yours, and your instincts."

"Shirofuku… you… came here before, right?" He asked, still frowning and feeling confused.

She stared at him, definitely thinking of him of a weirdo.

"I  _work_  here?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you all right, Bokuto?"

To hide his discomfort, Koutarou quickly loaded everything that was left, not realizing the speed and strength he was using. Then, he drove the wheelbarrow inside, pretending to be breathing hard. She watched him go away, blinking then decided that he was just weirder than she had initially thought.

"Bokuto-san, can you prepare the meat for the lions and tigers, please?" One of the nutritionists asked.

"Sure! Nine kilograms per… lion…?" He started, staring at the balance.

"Yes? Like usual?" She answered, confused.

"Ah, yes! Sorry! I just got… I have a weird feeling of déjà-vu…"

"Ah ah! We do this everyday. Of course you'd get that feeling every once in a while!"

"Right… Nine kilograms per lion then…" He continued, weighing the meat.

His day went on as usual, but he couldn't shake off a weird feeling.

Kenma was at work, feeling like he needed more coffee than usual. His brain was completely messed up – it was like it was in overload. It happened often since the meteor, and it usually exhausted him. But he was even more exhausted than usual…

Still, he had to handle his shifts for work as a game tester. He sat back next to his co-worker who was playing on the same game and cursing under his breath. He reached for the controllers, but when he grabbed it, it wavered from his hands. He stared at his empty hands just as the controllers reappeared…

In the same time, the screen with the game twitched. The tv screen turned on and off… and his co-worker cursed loudly.

"Not again! It keeps doing that! I'm tired of going through the same levels of that game…"

"We started it a week ago. It keeps turning on and off without actually bringing you back where you had last saved. We'll have to tell the game developer if it becomes too difficult to play it." Kenma said, sitting and taking the controllers in his hands, making sure it was real.

"I heard that the team working on the next Assassin's Creed is having the same problem. It might be the tv or the electricity buffering…"

"Oh…"

"Has it really only a week? I feel like we've been working on this one for three weeks…" He whined.

Kenma tried to remember the date they had started testing the video game, but… he was just confused. The more he tried to think about it, the more time seemed to be a mess in his head.

"There we go again, with the déjà-vu game," his co-worker mumbled.

"Déjà-vu…" Kenma repeated to himself, frowning.

Akaashi was feeling strange, like he had already participated to this meeting with his associates several times. Maybe he was just tired, like Kuroo had been the other day. That would explain his sensation of déjà-vu…

"And that's why I believe, it'd be a good investment to…"

His associate's voice trailed off when he noticed that several people were watching something happening through the window. Akaashi turned in the direction of what they were watching as well. Birds were flying in a frenzy, a huge flock that was going in every possible sense. Then, they seemed to disappear, as if sucked into an invisible hole in the sky.

"What…" Akaashi murmured.

He felt a strange electricity in the air, his body hair rose as absolute silence filled the room. Then, an entire flock of birds came out of the ceiling, screeching and flying in every sense in the room. Everyone screamed and went under the table, covering their hair and trying to escape the crazy flock flying inside the room.

"Where did they come from?!" His secretary screeched. Her voice barely covering the birds screeching.

Akaashi pinched his lips tight, then crawled out from under the table, trying not to walk over the corpses of the birds who had killed themselves flying into the floor or the walls. He hissed when his cheek was scratched by a bird, and he struggled to open the closest window. His secretary understood what he was doing and went out of under the table to open another window. The moment the fresh air was an option, the birds went through the opening, despite some more who died hurrying straight into windows.

The moment the calm was back, the associates came out from under the table that was covered in dead birds, feathers, and panicked bird droppings…

"Wh-what just happened…" His breathless secretary asked, trying to arrange her hair.

"Could it be… one of these superhuman?"

Akaashi looked up, then he turned towards the window. He saw someone's car driving straight into… nothing. And disappeared into the gods-knew-where.

"There is no normal explanation for this event. I suggest we all go home and stay safe until this is settled," Akaashi said.

And without waiting for their answers, he went through the cemetery of birds and took out his phone, messaging his friends.

Koutarou was feeding the lions when he felt his phone vibrate in his pockets. Three vibrations – it meant it was a mission for Nite Owl. He glanced around, but the lions were all yawning on their rocks – they were used to the presence of the zookeepers and they knew that if they messed around, they wouldn't get their meat.

He put down the bucket of meat and took out his phone to make sure it wasn't an emergency.

" _Strange things are happening. Gather asap at The Nest!"_  Was Akaashi's message.

_Nothing strange has been happening though_ … Was Koutarou's first thought.

The moment he thought that, he heard the lions suddenly stand up and run away.

"What the…?"

Right in front of him, he saw the air shimmering. He heard a vicious growl then a lion jumped out of it –  _no_ , not a lion…!

He gasped, eyes wide just as the beast noticed him and immediately jumped. Koutarou was so shocked that he barely reacted in time, jumping on the side. The big feline still managed to slash his bicep with long, sharp claws. Koutarou let out a growl of pain and grabbed the bucket of meat, throwing it into the beast's head with as much strength he could muster. The beast slapped the bucket away and hissed at him as Koutarou stepped away, one hand on his injured arm. He quickly looked down at the blood, then back at the creature that had come out of thin air…

A saber-toothed tiger.

The feline from another time jumped at him once again. Koutarou stepped back and only saw the giant, razor-sharp teeth about to slash his throat.

Kei had received Akaashi's message and was driving towards the Nest, not noticing anything suspicious as he went through the streets, until he heard screams and a whole crowd of people running into the street he was going through. He stopped suddenly to avoid hitting anyone as everyone screamed, running over the stopped cars.

Kei took out his helmet just as he heard something  _enormous_  resonating close-by. It made the ground vibrate and the windows of the buildings explode.

_An earthquake?_  He thought.

He quickly realized it was  _not_  an earthquake when another step – because that was  _something stepping_  – came right in front of him. A huge paw of greenish scales went up and up, belonging to an enormous beast that had disappeared millions of years ago, with a long neck and tiny head…

"Oh…" Kei let out, his eyes stinging.

It wasn't  _normal_  that a living brachiosaurus was currently walking through the streets of Tokyo, but  _gods_  he was having an epiphany right now.

_Back at the Ueno Zoo…_

Koutarou stepped back and only saw the giant, razor-sharp teeth about to slash his throat. He missed a step in the uneven ground of the lions' enclosure. It made him fall over and the saber-toothed tiger slashed the air. Knowing he wouldn't have much luck another time, Koutarou stood up and started running, but he quickly heard the growling of the tiger behind him. He glanced over his shoulders just as the saber-toothed tiger was about to jump and snap his head off. He bent down while turning around. The animal went for his throat, but Koutarou grabbed his jaw, ignoring the giant teeth that tore through the skin of his hands. He let himself fall down while kicking the beast into the chest, using all of his superhuman strength. The saber-toothed tiger flew over his head and right into the nearest wall. He hit it with a pained growl then fell to the ground.

Koutarou pouted. He hated hurting animals, but he didn't have much of a choice right now.

"Look, dude, I'm all for animal preservation, but you're extinct – go back to your time!" He said.

The saber-toothed tiger was struggling to stand up, shaking his head and breathing hard.

Koutarou looked up – he could jump to the edge of the lions' enclosure with a good run-up, but would his slashed hands and injured right arm be able to lift him up over the barriers?

While he had been considering his options, the saber-toothed tiger had stood up and was jumping on him once again. Koutarou didn't have time to react. He closed his eyes and lifted up his arms to protect his head even though he knew he wouldn't last against such razor-sharp fangs. He was hit by a rain of dust. He opened his eyes, coughing and looked around, but the tiger was gone – the only thing that was left was a pile of ashes…

Had time caught up to the reality and sent the saber-toothed tiger to his normal state?

A shriek resonated and it brought him back on earth. Without thinking, he ran up and jumped up, grabbing the edge of the lions' enclosure and lifting himself up despite the pain in his hands. He ran towards the screams and saw crowds of visitors running away from animals that seemed to be coming out of prehistoric documentaries!

"What the…"

"Bokuto!"

He turned around, seeing Shirofuku running towards him, but before she could reach him she stopped, breathing hard.

"Shirofuku!" He called, realizing she was in pain.

He ran to her, but she looked up and when their eyes met, she disappeared into ashes, like the saber-toothed tiger.

"No…!" He breathed, kneeling next to the pile of ashes.

His hands were covered in blood and ashes, from both the tiger and Shirofuku…

He had been unable to help her, he couldn't help all these people screaming for help as they were being slashed apart by creatures from another time…

There was something definitely wrong and he couldn't stay there, wasting time.

He ran to his car and hurried through the streets to the Nest – thankfully the traffic hadn't been too disturbed yet, but he could guess that other places in Tokyo were a mess.

At the Nest, everyone was there, except Kuroo who was on the phone with Kenma.

"Bokuto just arrived," he said.

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi exclaimed, "You're bleeding! What happened?!"

"I was attacked by a saber-toothed tiger. What about you?" He asked, pointing at his friend's cheek.

"Just… birds…" He answered, blinking.

"I saw dinosaurs walking down Takeshita Street," Tsukki said, eyes wide in awe.

"People are dying."

"It was beautiful…"

"People are  _dying!"_

"Ah… That sucks…" He answered but he was still too busy fangirling over the dinosaurs to really care.

"We have to do something!" Hinata exclaimed, already in his hero costume.

"Calm down, let's not rush anything – we need to think about what is going on and  _who_  is causing this." Akaashi said.

"We need to hurry, because other than dinosaurs from another time appearing out of thin air, people are… they are disappearing into dust! I had Shirofuku right in front of me… I couldn't do anything…" Bokuto said, clenching his fists, even though it made it bleed again.

Drops of blood and dust fell down to the floor.

"We'll–"

Akaashi's voice was cut by Hinata's sudden gasp. They all turned towards him as he wavered, putting a hand over his chest.

"Hinata?" Bokuto called, stepping towards him.

"Bokuto-san… I… I don't feel so good…" He said.

He wavered and fell into Bokuto's arms, just as he disappeared in ashes in front of everyone's eyes.

Koutarou breathed hard, eyes wide and body trembling.

"…We need to hurry." Akaashi said in a weak voice.

"…Kuroo has had déjà-vu for a while," Kenma started in a tiny voice, "And I… I've had modern objects disappear, electricity fail…"

"Birds that were flying in the sky just disappeared then reappeared in my office during a meeting," Akaashi added.

"We have animals from another time appearing, and people disappearing… and all that…"

" _Sounds like a tear in the space-time continuum to me,"_  Kuroo intervened from the voice-over,  _"You were silent for a while, what happened?"_

They glanced at each other, hesitating to tell him that Hinata had just vanished into dust right in front of them.

"Hinata… is gone." Akaashi said in a tight voice.

" _What?"_

"Kuroo," Bokuto intervened in a strong voice, standing up again, "A rupture through time and space – how do we reverse it?"

" _Uh… um… I'd say… I'd say someone, a superhuman must be provoking it, but… I can't think of any–"_

"Think harder!" Bokuto shouted, startling everyone, "You're the only one here with the brains to know what's going on and how to fix it! We're running out of time, so think  _harder!"_

There was a long silence at the other side of the line – so long, they feared Kuroo had disappeared into dust as well.

" _The only thing that could break the space-time continuum that I can think of are black holes. Black holes are mostly invisible, but can be found because of their interactions with matter_ _and with electromagnetic radiation, such as visible light–"_

"What does that mean?!" Bokuto asked, frustrated to not understand.

" _Kenma! Look for powerful electromagnetic fields that might emanate a very bright light!"_

Kenma was already typing and on the main screen, a map of Tokyo quickly appeared as he hacked into the satellites that would help him look for electromagnetic fields.

"I know where to go." Bokuto said after a look at the map, "Time to suit up!" He exclaimed, marching in determination to his hero costume and gadgets.

_An unknown amount of time ago…_

A car honking made Koizumi Tamiko stop abruptly in the middle of the road.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed.

The papers she had been carrying slipped from under her arm and fell to the ground. She bent down to gather them all up, but her cup of coffee spilled as well, splashing onto the papers.

"No, no, no, no!" She muttered, gathering the papers and trying to reduce the damage.

She stood up and ran off the road, the honking continuing. Some papers flew away and fell into the sewers, some passersby walked on top of it, leaving ugly dark footprints.

"No, no!"

She gathered the papers, but tripped and scraped her knee. She could tell her tights were torn and as she reached for one of the lost papers, a passerby stepped on top of her hand. She cried out in pain, but she got the paper and stood up. Her file was a complete mess, and her résumé was also completely messed up…

"Crap!" She exclaimed when she noticed the time.

She continued running through the crowd, hurrying to get to her job interview that would decide her future. She arrived five minutes before the time of the appointment and despite all the other girls who were staring at her with wide eyes, she quickly arranged her outfit and hair and make-up. She was sweaty, and her knee was scraped, her hand hurt, but at least, she could make up with her enthusiasm.

"Okay! Tamiko, you can do it!" She told herself, sitting down to wait calmly for the appointment.

She waited, watching the clock. Five minutes, fifteen minutes, half an hour…

"Excuse me, I had an appointment half an hour ago with Nakamura-san," she told the secretary.

"Name?" She asked without even glancing at the young girl.

"Ah, I'm Koizumi Tamiko."

"Nakamura-san will receive you when he is done with the person he is seeing now."

"Oh, I see… Thank you."

She went back to sit, waiting. Half an hour more, an hour…

"She's been waiting forever… have you seen her hair…?" Some passerby whispered.

Tamiko purposefully ignored the gossip around her. She had gone to the hairdresser the previous day, but despite a gut feeling that the lady doing her hair might mess up, she hadn't dared to speak up and ask for her usual hairdresser. Now, her hair was a mess. She had tried rearranging it, but… She had such bad luck, all the time. People didn't seem to see or hear her, and it did nothing to make her feel more confident… She remembered the previous day when she had picked up a thick wallet from a stranger who hadn't even thanked her…

Oh well, people were people, some weren't so rude… It'll be fine, this job interview was her greatest chance. Her luck would turn around.

She pulled at her résumé, in the hopes that it would look less damaged. And she waited another half an hour.

"Excuse me… but I must see Nakamura-san…" She told the secretary once again.

"Nakamura-san is busy at the moment," she answered in a monotone voice without even looking up.

"…Could you please–"

"Nakamura-san will see you when he can," She cut in.

Tamiko held back her sigh and was about to turn around just as Nakamura-san's office opened and he came out, followed by a girl around Tamiko's age, so pretty her heart squeezed in jealousy.

"I'm glad that we have found an agreement, Kobayashi-san," he told her, eying her up and down.

"I'm looking forward to be working for you, Nakamura-san," she answered with a perfect smile.

They walked past Tamiko and she almost jumped out of her own skin when she spoke up.

"Nakamura-san!"

He turned around and looked down at her, frowning in confusion.

"I… I am ready for the job interview that was planned for ten am…" She said with an awkward smile, trembling slightly.

"Oh. Right. I'm sorry, um… what's your name?"

"K-Koizumi Tamiko…" She answered in a breath.

"The job interview is cancelled, I found a new assistant. Good luck."

He continued his way while the girl, his new assistant, remained behind and looked Tamiko up and down.

"You should have gotten here earlier. You might have gotten the job despite… well."

She held back a laugh and walked away, following Nakamura-san like a puppy.

Tamiko swallowed hard and slowly walked back towards her stuff. She gathered the papers and put on her jacket, then walked out of the building. If she hadn't wasted time helping that old lady cross the street that morning, she wouldn't have missed her train and been late… She hadn't really been late, but she could have been earlier…

She took the train and went directly to her part-time job that  _sucked_. She was working as a waitress in a tiny restaurant where the owners overworked her and underpaid her. But she couldn't complain because it was the only job she could get. With the recent events involving the meteor, the economy had been failing which meant, many were fired and looking for new jobs. She had had bad luck even before that though…

It all started when she lost her job where she had been working for four years. The reason was that the boss' daughter needed to be hired and Tamiko was the one deemed replaceable. Then, her boyfriend of two years stole her credit cards and all her money and disappeared. The bank didn't accept this as a good enough excuse, and she was indebted and kicked out from her apartment. She was currently living with a couple of friends and looking for a new job when this damn meteor had ruined the economy and her chances… She had already sold almost everything she had…

She put on her uniform and sighed, before putting on a forced smile.

"You're late!" Was the cook's greeting.

"Still doing job interviews?" His wife mocked, "No one will hire you with hair like that!"

Tamiko swallowed back her pride and ignored her stinging eyes.

Once her time at the shitty job was over, she walked back to her friends' apartment in a slow walk. The night had fallen and she was exhausted. But when she tried to use the key, it didn't work, so she rang at the door.

"Ah, Tamiko-chan!" Emi-chan greeted, opening the door, but remaining in the way.

"I'm sorry, but the key wasn't working," she explained.

"Oh, that's because we changed the keys. You see… um, I talked a lot with Sora and… he doesn't want you around anymore… I'm sorry, but you'll find someone else to go with, right?"

"I…"

Tamiko felt her eyes sting yet again, but before she could say a thing, Emi took a box of Tamiko's belongings and forced it into her arms.

"Thank you for understanding!" She said with a smile as she slammed the door.

Tamiko stared at the door then, slowly, she turned around and walked into the nearest park, sniffing and trying not to cry. Some tears rolled down her cheeks anyway and she wiped them away. Her phone was dead, she had nowhere to go and no one to call. She had no money, no prospects, no nothing…

She opened the box of her belongings. Some clothes, some personal stuff… Emi-chan had kept some of her stuff then…

Her tears dried when she found, in the bottom of the box an old watch. It belonged to her grandfather. He used to say it was his lucky charm and he could always turn the luck around if he tapped his lucky watch.

It hadn't worked in years and now, it was cracked… It hadn't been cracked the last time she had held it.

"I could use some luck…" Tamiko murmured, caressing the watch.

She blinked, realizing that after passing her thumb over the case, it wasn't cracked anymore. Maybe she had seen wrong in the mid-darkness… Her thumb caressed it once again and this time, she watched carefully as light sparkles came from her skin and over the watch. She watched it tick again.

She stopped breathing, staring in awe at this miracle. The watch had been broken and unfixable for years… How could it work again?

Without quite knowing why she did her next gesture, she started to spin the crown to fix the time. She turned it around four times until she was satisfied with the time. And she tapped the watch twice.

When she looked up, it was day time and she was in the middle of the street… the street with her hairdresser where she had gone the previous day. But it was impossible, right?

She looked around and approached the closest passerby.

"E-excuse me, sir, what day is it?"

"Is is Monday," he answered with a smile before continuing.

She had been certain her hairdresser appointment was on Monday, and her job interview on Tuesday. So…

She hadn't dreamt this catastrophe of a day, right? Or maybe…

She looked down at her grandpa's watch that she was still holding… it was still in her hands, and it was still ticking as if it had never been broken.

Someone bumped into her and continued on their way, but she noticed that he had dropped his wallet on the ground.

"Ah–"

She bent down to retrieve it, but before she could call him, she was hit by this déjà-vu and… it wasn't déjà-vu. It wasn't a feeling. She was reliving her Monday. It was her chance to change things around and make her Tuesday a success! This watch really was a lucky charm!

She was about to go after the man who had dropped his wallet, but she remembered how ungrateful he had been the previous day… well, today. Well, the first Monday when she had retrieved it for him. She opened the wallet and saw that it belonged to her ex-boyfriend – he had been so fast she hadn't recognized him! And it was filled with money… more money than she had made in  _months!_

She knew it was wrong, but if she had the chance to change her life, living her day the exact same way as the first time would be useless… right?

With trembling hands, she took the money, and thinking back on what he had done to her months ago, she took his credit cards. He wouldn't notice his wallet missing right away…

She went to the bank and without surprise, the code hadn't changed. So she took as much money as she could from it – he had done it first, it was only fair to do it back at him! And then, she went to her hairdresser appointment, her pockets heavy with money and guilt.

"Takehiko isn't available right now, but I can do it for you," the lady who had ruined her hair the first time said.

"Ah, uh…"

"He won't be available for a while."

"I'll wait," Tamiko said, staring right at the lady.

She stared back at her, then shrugged. And even though she had to wait a lot more than usual, when Takehiko did her hair, it was  _perfect_. She would have her job interview… if she arrived in time and…

She thought back on the very pretty girl who had been hired – so Tamiko went shopping. Over the hours, with the joy and pleasure that kept increasing, it became easier and easier to forget the guilt that it was stolen money. She bought all the clothes and make-up she knew would look perfect on her, and the following day, she got up ready to make a change. In the mirror, she looked perfect.

She put all her papers in her brand-new case then went out in the street to take her train. She saw an old lady struggling to cross the street and she slowed down…

The first time… she had missed her train because she had helped this lady. If she did it again…

She couldn't mess up again. So she crossed the street and didn't look back, thinking on her soon-to-be success.

She heard a car honking and sliding down the road then screams. She whipped around and gasped, her eyes filled with tears when she saw–

_Oh no_ …

The old lady… the car, it had–

_No, no, no, no! I didn't want this to happen! No!_

Her shaking hand grabbed her lucky watch and she watched the second hand and minute hand ticking by. She grabbed the crown and went back a few minutes ago, then tapped the case twice. White light came out of her fingers, illuminated the watch and invaded her vision.

When she looked up she was on the other side of the street and she could see the old lady struggling to cross the street.

"WAIT!" Tamiko shouted, running to the old lady.

Her scream alerted the distracted car driver who stopped before hitting the old lady. Tamiko breathed hard and held out her arm for the old lady.

"Ah, thank you, young lady…"

"I'm so sorry…" Tamiko murmured, still feeling teary-eyed.

"Why are you apologizing? You're helping me, this is the sweetest."

The old lady smiled and gave her a piece of candy once they were on the other side of the street. Tamiko watched her leave, but then, suddenly remembering her train, she startled. She ran to the train station and down the stairs, but thankfully, her train hadn't left the station yet.

"Please! Hold it! Please!" She shouted.

A man noticed her running to it – the first time, he had ignored her. But this time, he held back the door. Tamiko ran through it just before it closed.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said, breathing hard after her run.

"You're welcome," he answered, looking her up and down.

She felt ice go through her veins and she stepped away, realizing why he had helped her. She quickly went to take a seat, ignoring him the entire way.

She glanced down at her lucky watch. She could… go back in time with this watch. It wasn't just a one-time thing. She could do it as many times as she wanted, as many times as she needed to change her life, as many times as necessary to have her luck back.

She kissed the watch, silently thanking her grandfather for this wonderful gift.

Tamiko arrived half an hour in advance to her job appointment – she hadn't messed up anything on her way there and she noticed the perfect-looking girl who had been hired the first time. She was arranging her make-up. She was so distracted by her mirror that she didn't notice right away that Nakamura-san arrived – but Tamiko did.

"Nakamura-san! Good morning!" She said with a confident smile.

The other girl stared at her in disbelief while he looked her up and down and paused, then glanced back at Tamiko's face.

"You are… Koizumi Tamiko-san, right? You are early, but if you don't mind I can take you right now for the job interview."

"I would love to, Nakamura-san," she answered.

"Wonderful! There are so many girls, it's a blessing if we can be a little ahead of schedule."

Nakamura-san was enchanted by her perfect résumé and experience. Her manners and appearance were exactly what he was looking for as an assistant. She got the job. Not only was it exactly what she wanted to do, but it came with a great salary  _and_  lodging.

Tamiko moved into her new apartment and with her new salary, and with the money she had gotten back from her asshole of a boyfriend, she could settle in nicely. She left her shitty job and Emi-chan helped her move into this new place.

Her life was perfect. Finally.

She stared at her lucky watch and considered putting it somewhere safe and out of reach, so she wouldn't be tempted to use it… but after doing that, she went for groceries and a man stole her bag. She went back home and went back in time, and didn't go out for groceries. She didn't get her bag stolen. Her luck was still there.

The following day there was a big meeting with Nakamura-san and she couldn't let him down. But on her way there, she spilled her coffee on her shirt and… thankfully, she had her lucky watch with her.

_I should probably minimize the use of the time watch_ , she thought to herself as she made sure not to drop anything on her anymore.

But she smiled and went on with her life with an enthusiasm and joy she had forgotten. She kept the watch as reassurance, and to fix little problems such as these. And little by little, she couldn't let go of the watch anymore. She was constantly rewinding time, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours, sometimes an entire day if she had forgotten something important.

Tamiko thought that there was nothing wrong in getting back what life and cruel people had taken from her – but then, she noticed a car disappearing right in the middle of the road. She thought it had been an illusion until a hole opened in the sky – and a pterodactyl flew out of it.

_Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no!_

Panicked, Tamiko went back to her home and held her lucky watch, trembling.

If she came back in time before the car disappeared – it might not disappear, right?

So she rewinded time again. And she watched the car disappear once again.

_No, no, no, no, no! it's not supposed to happen! It's not supposed to do that!_ She thought to herself, running back home once again.

Once again, she stared at the watch, her fingers on the crown. What if it was a mistake? What if this car had disappeared and this prehistoric animal had appeared  _because_  she was constantly using her watch? But it was a tiny little watch, and she only used it for tiny little things… It couldn't– it couldn't be…

She glanced at the newspaper on the table, seeing the article about Nite Owl and the supervillains that had appeared. Everyone said the meteor had done  _things_  to people. What if… it had done things to her watch too? What if it really was dangerous to overuse the watch?

She shook her head, deciding to not use the watch anymore. But when she tried to lock the crown back, it wouldn't. She insisted, trying to get the old watch to work with her but when she forced, the crown got blocked.

"No!" Tamiko exclaimed.

She watched as the hour, minute and second hands started turning round and round, without stopping.

" _Stop!"_  She shouted, throwing the watch on the floor.

Electricity charged the air and tears of panic and fear filled her eyes. She had never wanted this to happen! She had only wanted a little bit of luck!

"Please, stop!"

_At the same time…_

Nite Owl was running through the city, seeing medieval samurai fighting dinosaurs and people running away when modern objects disappeared and reappeared. It was absolute chaos!

" _Bokuto-san,"_  Kenma intervened in his ear.

"Kenma! I can't hear you well! The sound is buffering!"

" _The elec- is cau- ring. You- whe- ight?"_

"What?"

It sounded of static electricity now. He couldn't hear Kenma's voice anymore. Clicking his tongue, he tapped the side of his helmet, but it didn't help. The in-ear microphone just stopped working. Thankfully, he didn't need Kenma's guidance. The electromagnetic field that was causing this hell was pretty obvious.

Rays of light and sparkles were surrounding a building – where the person causing this might be hiding.

Military trucks suddenly arrived, driving past him at full speed and stopping just before the electromagnetic field. They started setting up a security perimeter and Nite Owl knew he only had a little bit of time before he would be kept away from the superhuman causing this. He thought back on the girl who had been shot by the army. He couldn't let this happen again.

So he ran through a side street and turned around to avoid the most trucks and soldiers. He had planned on taking the back entrance to the building, but there were two soldiers who saw him running.

"Hey! You! Stop there!" They ordered.

"Sorry!" Nite Owl said as he arrived to them and punched them both.

They collapsed, unconscious. Then he walked towards the rays of light that were spinning around like a tornado… He approached with his hand. It was warm and didn't hurt, so he walked through it, shaken a little, but he quickly entered the building. The rays of light were coming from a window on the sixth floor, so he went there directly. It wasn't hard to figure out where to go, he simply had to follow the lights. He entered the apartment in which the windy lights were a lot stronger. He had to lift up his arms to try and see through.

"Hey! Hey, girl!" He called, seeing a kneeling figure in the centre.

She didn't seem to hear him, so he went forward, feeling like he was walking through a typhoon. But even when he thought he'd lose his balance, even when objects of all times hit him, he kept going. He couldn't give up on her and he had to hurry before the soldiers got in and shot her.

"Hey!"

He struggled through the wind and lights, then finally arrived near her where there was not a breeze of air. It was like the eye of a hurricane, completely silent and quiet… if not for the sobs coming from the girl. Her hands let out endless wisps of light that formed the hurricane.

"Hey…" He said, as gentle as he could.

She jumped, whipping around and looking up at him. She tried to move away but he reacted, lifting up his hands.

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not here to hurt you! I only want to help!"

She hesitated, and he saw a newspaper on the floor, with The Moon's latest article about him. The girl glanced at it then back at him and he smiled.

"Yeah, that's me. Petty cool, uh?"

She didn't answer as he knelt down in front of her.

"What's your name?"

"M-my name is… my name is Koizumi Tamiko…" She said.

"All right, Tamiko-chan, I'm here to help. You know what's happening right now, don't you?"

More tears filled her eyes.

"I… I didn't mean to…! I didn't think the watch would…"

"A watch? What watch?" He asked, frowning lightly.

She showed him what she was holding her hands, and through the endless wisps of light, he could see a watch.

"It used to be broken, it was my grandfather's, and he called it his… his lucky charm. I… I've had bad luck for  _so long_  and… and I ended up in the streets with nothing left and no one to count on…"

"Not even friends or family?" Nite Owl asked, titling his head on a side.

"All my family is dead… and my friends can't help, or they decided to stop helping me. I didn't mean to be so helpless! I… it all happened when I lost my job, then my boyfriend stole all my money, and it just kept… spiralling out of control… I hated my life!"

"People… people can be cruel, but some are good too… And I can tell that you are a good person and you've helped many people," he said in a kind voice.

She looked up at him, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What happened? What changed your life around? Is it the watch?" He asked, pointing at it.

"I-I think so… It just, stopped being broken… and when I used the crown, I could go back in time. So I fixed… I… I fixed my life, but I… did terrible things and ruined others' lives by doing so… and now… I can't– I can't control it anymore…"

Tamiko lowered her head and Nite Owl glanced at the watch, the time hands spinning frantically. He approached his hand to touch hers, they were cold. He felt a tingling sensation in his hands and he glanced down, then took off his gloves. His injuries from the saber-toothed tiger were fading away.

"Your power… it's fixing time. It's not turning time, but  _fixing_  time." He realised.

"What?"

"You and I… we are superhumans, we became so because of the meteor."

"I… I thought the watch… that the watch was…"

"It's not the watch, Tamiko-chan. It's  _you_. And you can fix this." He said, showing around them, "Look, people are dying and if we don't fix this mess of spacey-time continuity… _thingy_ , they'll keep getting hurt, dying, and disappearing. You  _must_  fix this, Tamiko."

"But how?" She asked, lips trembling.

"You know how." He said with a serious gaze.

Tears appeared, and they flew from her eyes because of the wind from the electromagnetic storm she had caused with the use of her power.

"I don't want to go back to that old life…" She admitted, her shoulders dropping as she admitted this.

"We can fix it, that old life of yours, your  _real_  life. We can make it better."

"How? You won't remember any of this…"

"But  _you_  will. You can find me and if you tell me what happened, I'll believe you, I promise. I work at the Ueno Zoo, you'll find me there. You'll recognize me," he said with a wink. "You're the only one who can fix this, and who can fix your life. So, Tamiko-chan… do you trust me?" He asked, showing her his hand.

She hesitated, before nodding. She put her hand into his. He felt the cold metal of the watch in the palm of his hand just as rays of light came out of her hands. Light invaded their vision.

Tamiko looked up and it was night. She was sitting on the bench in that park and on her knees, she had nothing left, but her box of belongings left by Emi-chan. She looked for the watch, but it wasn't there anymore.

She sighed, leaning against the back of the bench. The night was quiet, it was reassuring. Time and space weren't breaking anymore because of her.

Tamiko didn't remember falling asleep, but she might have dozed off for a little while because suddenly, footsteps resonated. She looked up, hoping for Nite Owl, but instead… several soldiers approached her. They were holding guns, but didn't point them at her.

"Hello," their leader said with a sharp nod, "I am Major General Ushijima Wakatoshi. Are you Koizumi Tamiko?"

"Y-yes…" She answered, frightened.

Ushijima turned towards a lanky guy who approached – he had strange red hair and red eyes that he narrowed as he stared at her. Then, he smirked and Tamiko shivered.

"Oh, you did some terrible, terrible things when you used your power, Tamiko-chan…"

"W-what… what are you…"

"All that money you took… that job you stole from that girl… and you let that old lady die… you are a bad, bad girl…"

Panicking and not understanding what was going on anymore, Tamiko suddenly stood up. Her box of belongings dropping to the ground. Everything scattered but none of the soldiers moved.

"They deserved it! They've had luck their entire lives! I  _didn't!_  I only wanted to–"

A swift sound and she suddenly collapsed on the floor, unconscious. There was a purple dart in her neck.

No one in the Shiratorizawa Special Force reacted, except Tendou who tilted his head on a side. Semi sighed and talked into a mic on his collar.

"You didn't have to stop her yet, Yamagata."

" _Sorry, I saw her move and I reacted."_

"Always the best to defend us, Yamagata-san!" Goshiki exclaimed, turning towards the distant building where he knew their best defence and sniper was, always protecting their backs.

"Take her," Ushijima said, turning around as his men moved to take Tamiko away.

"Ueno Zoo…" Tendou murmured.

"Mm?"

They turned towards Tendou Satori who smirked.

"She thought of the Ueno Zoo. It was her last thought before she was knocked out by Hayate-kun."

Semi, Reon, and Ushijima glanced at each other.

"We might need to look into this, then," Reon said in a calm voice.

_At the same time, in Bokuto Koutarou's apartment…_

Koutarou woke up with a start. He had had the strangest of dreams… He sat up, but then realized that he was holding something in his hand. An old watch. And he remembered,  _everything_.

He stood up frantically and ran to his phone, then started calling Hinata. It rang many times, but then, a sleepy voice answered.

" _Bokuto-san…?"_

"Hinata! Hinata you're okay!"

" _Uh… Y-yeah, I am?"_

"Thank goodness, it worked!"

" _What's going on?"_

Koutarou hesitated, then shook his head.

"Nothing… go back to sleep."

" _Okay… Goodnight…"_

The following day, Koutarou waited all day at the Ueno Zoo, expecting Tamiko to show up, but she didn't. Nothing was amiss, no one had noticed anything nor remembered dinosaurs walking through the streets of Tokyo. Tsukishima would be terribly disappointed.

But finally, when after an entire day, no Tamiko came to the Zoo, he sent a message to his team to gather at the Nest. But before that, he went directly to the Miyagi Police Station. He didn't glance at the Shiratorizawa Special Force he walked past, even if one of them, a red-head, was particularly weird-looking.

"Hey! I just received your message!" Kuroo said when he saw him arrive, "What's going on?"

"Do you feel… do you remember nothing?"

"Remember what?" He asked, confused.

Koutarou clicked his tongue.

"Nothing, I'll tell you at the Nest…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed a picture and a file on a police officer's desk. He got closer and without asking, took the file.

"Hey," Iwaizumi said, "That's my file. I need to add her to the list of the missing people."

He held out his hand, expecting the file to be returned to him, but Koutarou just kept staring at the picture. Koizumi Tamiko.

"What… what happened? When did she become a missing person?" He asked frantically.

"Um… her friend tried calling her all day, she was feeling bad for forcing her out or something… She hasn't heard from her and there's no trace of her anywhere. Why? Do you know her?"

"I…"

Koutarou gave the file back to Iwaizumi who stared at him in confusion. He glanced at Kuroo who shrugged, just as lost.

"Not really… but she trusted me… and I failed her…" He said, clenching the broken watch into his hand so hard, he heard it crack under the pressure of his superhuman strength.

"Bokuto?" Kuroo called, starting to sense that there was something weird.

"Let's go…" He muttered, turning around and leaving.

Kuroo followed him from afar, his gaze noticing the way Tendou followed Bokuto with narrowed eyes. Kuroo slowed down, staring at the strange man who was freaking everyone out… Tendou then whipped his head towards him, and froze him at the spot.

"Good day to you, Tetsurou-kun~!" He hummed, continuing his way.

Kuroo glanced over his shoulder, unnerved by the guy. And he knew that something had happened to make Bokuto act so weird…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will complete the 3rd gymnasium group! ;)
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	8. People’s Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who kudoed and commented!

 

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER VIII : People's Hope

" _You counter despair with hope. You strive forever for the best you are capable to be! Therein lies your victory!"_

―  **Storm (Ororo Munroe), Heroes for Hope Starring the X-Men, Vol. 1**

"You're telling me there were real, living dinosaurs in the streets of Tokyo and I would have  _forgotten?"_  Tsukishima asked, his voice ringing with disbelief and annoyance.

"You  _did_  forget, I  _know_  it, because I saw the dinosaurs too. I fought a saber-toothed tiger!" Bokuto exclaimed, staring at his friends all gathered at the Nest.

"We believe you, Bokuto-san, everything has been a little too strange to assume you wouldn't tell the truth about time-travel and forgetting another… reality… I suppose." Akaashi said to calm down everyone.

"I  _forgot_  the dinosaurs?" Tsukishima repeated, still in absolute disbelief that, another reality or not, he'd  _forget_  such a thing.

"Yeah, get over it, it's just dinosaurs," Hinata said with a teasing smirk.

" _Just_  dinosaurs?!"

"I turned into  _dust!"_

"That's not much difference from your usual self then!"

"Will you two kids stop arguing?" Kuroo said, rolling his eyes.

"We're not kids!" Hinata exclaimed, looking offended.

"Let me remind you that we're only two years younger than you," Tsukishima added.

"See, they don't always argue, when they argue against you," Kenma said with an amused smile.

" _Everyone!"_  Bokuto exclaimed, bringing his hands up, "All that is very cute! But someone disappeared!"

They glanced at each other, reminded of the harsh reality they were living in.

"Bokuto… I know you feel concerned by this girl…" Kuroo started with an uneasy look on his face, "But…  _millions_  of people have disappeared by now. This isn't really surprising."

"But she didn't disappear in that other– in the original… that other time-space thingy! She was safe and sound, we came back to our timeline and, less than twenty-four hours later, she's added to the list of the missing people! Don't you find this weird?" Bokuto continued, brows furrowed together.

They glanced at each other – except Kuroo who was staring at nothing in particular, lost in thoughts.

"Kuroo?" Kenma called, straightening up when he noticed his expression.

"…You said she was another superhuman, right?"

"Yeah? That's how she could fix time, again and again." Bokuto answered, confused.

"And then she disappeared…"

He turned towards the others who gradually understood what he meant.

"The missing people would all be… superhumans?" Hinata concluded, frowning.

"How could they be discovered by whoever is kidnapping them?" Akaashi asked.

"Kidnapping… or eliminating," Kenma added.

They all darkened and Hinata looked away, clenching his fists. He felt the most concerned by the fate of the missing people – his best friend and partner had been missing for so long now…

"Kenma, do you think you could find any recordings from cameras around where Tamiko was last seen?" Bokuto asked, approaching the large desk with computers.

"I could try, but I can't guarantee anything… Do you have the address of the place she was last seen at?" He asked, getting a copy of her disappearance file that Kuroo had managed to copy from Iwaizumi before leaving the police station.

While he was typing on his computer and looking for any clue, the others continued talking.

"Shouldn't we look directly at the source?" Hinata spoke up, attracting everyone's attention to him, "We know that meteor is what caused our superpowers, and we know it was NASA and the army that messed up. Why don't we go directly to NASA headquarters, or investigate the army, or even go back to the crash site! Maybe we'll find answers there, maybe… maybe we'll find the missing people!"

"Hinata-kun, we can't do such a thing. There...there aren't enough of us for such an operation. You and Bokuto-san may be relatively good heroes, but the rest of us aren't. We can't fight against NASA or the army. None of us work there and I doubt we could find a spy to send in anytime soon…" Akaashi explained calmly.

Hinata pursed his lips, clenching his fists once again.

"So we do nothing? We just watch people get kidnapped or shot just because they're different? It's wrong! That's not why I became a hero! I want to help and save these people! Not watch them die!"

"We will help them," Bokuto said, putting his hand on his disciple's shoulder, "We  _will_. But… we lack experience and whoever our enemy is… they are several steps ahead of us. We can fight, and we will win. But it requires time  _and_  discretion."

He squeezed the boy's shoulder and despite his inner struggle, Hinata nodded.

"I can't find anything…" Kenma intervened, "I found videotapes from several buildings around where she was last seen, but after she enters a park, there's nothing."

"Show me the last moment you saw her again," Kuroo said.

Kenma sent the videotape onto the main screen and they all observed carefully. Kuroo asked several times for the video to be rewinded and finally, he pointed at the corner of the screen with the time.

"There! It looks like dust! But that's what Kai noticed on some other videotapes! Whoever kidnapped this girl, and all the others, have been erasing their tracks with the efficiency of professionals. They erased the evidence that shows what happened during that time."

"Then, there's no way to find any clues unless we directly witness such a kidnapping?" Akaashi concluded, arms crossed over his chest.

"Or unless we find other clues…" Kuroo added, voice trailing off, "I'm going back to the police station."

"Why?" Tsukishima asked.

"I'm going to look into the missing people's cases. Perhaps there will be some clues about whether or not they were superhumans – stuff that we've overlooked because it didn't help with the investigation, but that might be clues to their nature. If we can at least figure out what links the missing people together… it'd be a great step forward."

"Even if you do find such clues, you can't share it with your colleagues," Tsukishima continued, "How would you explain that you know how to detect superhumans? How would you explain that you gathered such clues and linked all the missing people like that? They'll want answers and unless you betray us, there is no way you can avoid explanations."

"…You're right, but I'm not doing this only because I work at the police station… I want to help  _us_  too," he answered, glancing at his friends who were superhuman.

"I'm coming with you!" Bokuto exclaimed, grabbing his jacket.

"No, I think it's best you stay away from the police station for a while. I think… there's a weirdo from the Shiratorizawa Special Force, and I think he has his eyes set on you. So watch out." Kuroo said, thinking back on Tendou's strange behaviour earlier.

Bokuto kept his lips thin. Kuroo left the Nest and went back to the police station on his motorbike.

"Oh, Kuroo, what are you doing? Coming back so late?" One of the night-time colleagues asked from behind his desk.

"I forgot some stuff in my lab, I'm just going to grab it," he answered with an easy-going smile.

"Okay," he answered, going back to his reading.

Kuroo continued forward, as if he was going to his lab, but after a look over his shoulder to make sure none of his colleagues were watching him, he turned around and went through another hall. He tried opening Daichi's office, but it was locked – of course it was… He pulled out his keys – as chief of the lab, he had most of the keys for the police station. He should have the right one. He tried several then, the door opened and he slipped into the dark room. He went straight towards Daichi's computer.

The only ones who had access to the entirety of the files concerning the missing people were Daichi, Shimizu, and the Shiratorizawa Special Force. The rest of them, including the chief of lab that he was, only had access to some aspects or details, never the entire file. It wasn't really to protect the files, but they were dividing the work and didn't need full access.

"Really, Sa'amura?" He grumbled when he was welcomed with a password.

He tried to think of what his friend would use as password, then a picture attracted his gaze. It was a family picture – Daichi himself, with his wife and his two children, a girl and a younger boy.

"…It can't be that easy…"

But he still tried their names – without success. Then, he tried remembering the birthdays and individually, it didn't work. But then, he put a series of number – Yui and the two kids' birthdays one after another. And he saw the background screen appearing – another picture of his family.

"You really love them, don't you…"

He took out his USB, then immediately plugged it into the side of the computer, taking  _everything_  he could find concerning the missing people. Just as it was downloading, he suddenly heard steps and smothered voices.

"Shit!" He muttered to himself, looking around in panic.

He turned the screen off as it kept downloading, then jumped under the desk just as two guys walked by the office, talking quietly.

Tetsurou could feel his heart beating like drums, and he only breathed out in relief when he didn't hear anything else. He came out from under the desk and turned the screen back on. The download was complete. He took his USB, turned off the computer, and made sure there was no trace of him being there. Then he got out of the office and locked it again. He was putting the keys and USB into his bag when he bumped into someone – or rather, two people. The two Shiratorizawa guys who had walked by earlier.

"Kuroo-san?" Goshiki asked, frowning.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Kawanishi added.

"I was… I was getting… stuff back! That I had forgotten!" Kuroo exclaimed, his voice sounding a little too high-pitched to his taste.

Kawanishi frowned and Goshiki leaned on his side to look behind him.

"There's only Sawamura-san's office over here, right? You don't have access there."

"No… no, indeed… I was… I was getting stuff back from  _my_  office, in the lab. But… I… needed to go to the toilets. So I went to the ones at the end of the hall." He explained, awkward and clumsy as he pointed over his shoulder.

"Why not the ones near the lab?" Kawanishi asked as Goshiki blinked at Kuroo.

"Because these ones are… bigger and more… comfortable for… long moments spent in there." Kuroo continued.

"Oh, I see. I understand, I do the same. Some toilets are really disgusting!" Goshiki exclaimed, nodding.

"Right… it's a wonder we're not dead because of bacteria." Kuroo agreed with a vivid nod.

"Yes, it's not that hard to keep toilets clean and  _yet_ , it's like everyone is competing to try and make it as disgusting as possible!"

"It's not as disgusting as the public toilets, though," Kawanishi added.

"Don't tell me about it, I have this phobia of peeing in public toilets – it's just too disgusting for me," Kuroo said very intensely.

"Yeah, I avoid that too…"

"Well, then! My… uh, my business is done here! So I will go! Have a good night, guys!" Kuroo exclaimed, a little too hurried, but thankfully the two soldiers didn't think he was suspicious anymore after agreeing on a matter as important as toilets cleanliness.

He walked past them and had to keep his legs from running out of nerves. He would end up with hair as white as Bokuto's at this rate.

"Good night!" His colleague saluted as he walked away.

"Good night…"

He drove directly back home, and even though he wanted to try and see what had been downloaded, he managed to keep his composure. He suddenly wasn't sure who to trust, or where he was safe. So he decided to wait the following day for the safety of the Nest.

_In the Shiratorizawa Special Force headquarters…_

Kawanishi and Goshiki passed their accreditations and walked without trouble into the secured space on the first floor of the Miyagi Police Station that was now their headquarters.

"There should be some laws regarding toilets cleanliness–"

"Are you really talking about toilets cleanliness while on duty, boys?"

They turned around, surprised upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Sasaki-san!" Goshiki exclaimed when he recognized Ushijima-san's cousin.

She smiled as brightly as a star, like she always did. She was sitting on a table just as Ushijima, Tendou, and Semi were talking to her about something.

"You're back earlier than we expected," Kawanishi intervened.

"My mission ended faster than planned, so I'm back here. I thought I would enjoy the company of my sweet cousin, but  _apparently,_  I have another mission already," she answered, giving a harsh glare in the direction of Ushijima.

He raised an eyebrow, while gathering papers.

"This mission is in Tokyo, you won't have to move this time."

"Mmm…" She hummed.

"We've already prepared your alibi and everything you'll need for the next few days. It's just watching around and trying to confirm one of our suspicions." Semi added, typing on the touch screen and computer integrated in the table she was sitting on without remorse.

"Get off the table, Shiori," Ushijima asked her without looking up.

She sighed, then jumped off the table. Beautiful, talented, charming, Sasaki Shiori was the cousin of Ushijima Wakatoshi, and even though she wasn't officially affiliated with the army as a soldier, she was an active spy working for the Ushijima family and mostly, for the Japanese army. Recently, she had been given missions under the orders of her cousin himself.

Her missions varied from following someone to execution if necessary, but it mostly required gathering intel. Everyone on the Shiratorizawa Special Forces knew not to mess with her because as gentle as she appeared, she was a force to reckon with. She was sweet and funny the rest of the time, though.

"This is your target," Semi announced.

With a flick of his fingers, the information from the touch screen went to a big screen, so everyone could see. The face of a young man appeared with dark hair, golden eyes, and a cheerful expression.

"Bokuto Koutarou," she read before smiling, "He's cute."

"He's working as a zookeeper at the Ueno Zoo," Tendou added, "I believe he might be related to the group of superhumans working as heroes."

"You think he's the Nite Owl?" Shiori asked with wide eyes.

"We're not sure, and that's what you're going to find out." Ushijima said, giving her the entire file, "We know that right after the meteor, he got very sick and was absent for two weeks from work. He also 'dyed' his hair white and we know that physical changes of the sort can occur when a superhuman's powers awaken."

"How did you find out about him?" Shiori asked, as she went through the file with all the details about this Bokuto Koutarou.

"The last girl we caught thought of the 'Ueno Zoo' just before passing out. She woke up, but her thoughts have been too muddled for me to figure out what she knows," Tendou explained, splayed over the table regardless of being tactile, "We think it might be a reaction to the new tranquilizer used on superhumans. Anyway~ When we looked into the Ueno Zoo employees, we found that guy. He's got too many details corresponding with a superhuman to let it pass."

Shiori hesitated slightly, then looked up.

"What if he's a superhuman, but not the Nite Owl? Will you stop him too?"

"Getting sentimental, my dear Shi-chan~?" Tendou asked with his singing voice.

She turned a sharp look towards him.

"I don't mind arresting the superhumans who are a threat to the people. But… I feel like, lately, Washijou-san has only ordered us to arrest more and more superhumans even when they aren't any risk." She explained, feeling uneasy with the way things were becoming.

Tendou stared at her, capturing her thoughts. He had always been close to her, so perhaps that was why she was so easy to read, compared to others – but as talented as she was putting on masks for her spying activities, for him, and his superpower, she was an open book.

He didn't add anything, reluctantly swallowing back the feelings he was sharing. Things  _were_  becoming more and more complicated, and everyday he – and many others – felt like they were losing any grasp they had on the situation.

"You shouldn't say such a thing, Washijou-san knows what he's doing." Ushijima said, without glancing at his cousin.

"Does he?" She asked, her emerald eyes burning into his soul.

He looked up at once, staring back at her, without hesitation.

"He is our superior. He gives us orders, we obey." He said in a strong voice.

" _You_  obey his orders, you're the soldier. Not me." Shiori continued.

"Shiori."

She looked away and Tendou quickly turned his head down, trying to control his power. No matter how much he loved getting under people's skins, for the people he cared about… it was just hard to know their trauma and the reasons why they were acting the way they did. Both Wakatoshi-kun and Shi-chan were trapped in their lives, by their families and duties. But only one of them seemed to realise this, without having the strength to struggle against the chains slowly strangling them.

"Leave it to me…" Shiori finally said in a low voice, straightening up to leave the room, keeping the file about Bokuto Koutarou under her arm.

Semi glanced between Shiori, Wakatoshi who seemed to be feeling guilty, and Tendou who was putting on an indifferent face – which meant he was deeply touched by whatever he had read in her mind.

"We need orders to ensure the safety of everyone. Washijou-san always knows what to do and gives us the right orders. That's all, you can leave." Wakatoshi ordered.

Tendou stood up lazily while Semi did a salute, followed by the red-head. Then, they left him. And like every night, Wakatoshi would stay much longer, studying plans and figuring out how to help the people – the missing ones, the superhumans, the humans…  _Everyone_.

_At the Ueno Zoo, the following day…_

People applauded enthusiastically after the demonstration of the owls and other birds of prey, obeying Koutarou and Washio, the main raptors trainer of the Ueno Zoo. To please the curious children, Koutarou was allowed to bring back Who-san, one of the snow owls from the Zoo who was very calm and obedient, on his arm so he could introduce them to the public. The ones who hadn't dared asked questions during the demonstration were less shy now that it didn't involve speaking up in front of everyone.

"Are you a magician, sir?" A little boy asked with eyes wide in amazement.

"A magician?" Koutarou repeated.

"You have an owl, so you must be a magician!"

"Oh? Do you mean a wizard? Like in Harry Potter?" He understood, grinning.

The boy nodded vividly, all the children were listening with attention, wanting to know whether or not he was a wizard…

"That's a secret that only Who-san and I know!" Koutarou answered with a wink.

They were all excited at the possibility that he might be a wizard and Who-san might be his owl companion.

Who-san suddenly opened his wings, trying to stabilize himself on Koutarou's forearm. His sudden movement scared a few children who moved away, but they relaxed when they saw that the owl had just lost his balance and was calm again.

"He's getting hungry, so I'll bring him back with his friends to feed him, okay?" He said.

"Can we watch?" A little girl asked, holding onto her big brother.

"Of course! You know where to go to see the owls?"

As answer she lifted up the map of the Ueno Zoo she was holding, then she pulled at her brother's sleeve to make him understand she wanted to go there.

"I'll see you soon, then! Be good, kiddos!" He said, walking away with Who-san on his forearm.

Some people stopped him on his way, pointing at the peaceful owl perched on the arm of the zookeeper and if some went to ask him questions, Koutarou happily answered. It was their duty, at the Ueno Zoo, to spread information about the animals they were protecting.

In a less crowded area, Who-san started getting impatient and from his actions and the way he kept moving and glancing around, Koutarou understood he had seen some little mouse or something and his hunter instincts were getting to him.

"Calm down, Who-san, you'll get your food soon, promise," he said, caressing the feathers on his chest to get his attention back on him.

"Hoot!" He answered, flapping his wings a little.

Koutarou was so distracted by Who-san that he didn't see a young woman arriving from the other side. Too busy reading the map, she bumped into him and, echoed by Who-san's cries and flaps of wings, her bag fell down at their feet.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, immediately bending down to retrieve her stuff that had clumsily fell out of her bag.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Koutarou said, "Shh, everything's fine, Who-san. She was just distracted, like us, uh?"

He caressed his feathers and Who-san quickly calmed down just as the woman stood up, smiling at him brightly. Koutarou blinked when he saw how beautiful she was – tall, thin, with long dark hair and green eyes sparkling like jewels when she took out her sunglasses.

"I'm so sorry I bumped into you when you're working and… and when you are with your… friend," she said with an amazed smile, glancing at the owl.

"Oh… it's… it's fine," he answered with a smile that was enthusiastic for different reasons than when he was presenting Who-san to children, "H-he's called Who-san," he added quickly, "The owl, not me. I mean–  _obviously_ , I'm not called Who-san and I wouldn't introduce myself like that, that'd be weird and stupid and–"

He stopped rambling when her enchanting eyes turned back towards him – even Who-san sent him a judging look from his awkward blabbering.

"Who-san is a very cute name," she said with a smile, "For both an owl and… a handsome man like you."

She was flushing and he flushed too, grinning like a fool.

"You really think I'm handsome?" He said, glad to be praised – he hadn't flirted with a girl in a long time, but it felt good to be appreciated once again.

Before she could answer though, a voice raised behind:

"Bokuto! What are you doing?! Who-san should be back with the others already!" Washio called from afar.

"Sorry! I'm on my way!" He answered, wincing when Who-san narrowed his eye at him for making him late for his lunch, "I'm so sorry, I must go–" He said to the girl.

He opened and closed his lips, about to ask her if he would see her again – but that was stupid, he didn't know her at all and they had only just met. But his hesitation was enough that she smiled and answered his silent question.

"I'm going to spend the entire day visiting the zoo, sir," she answered.

"Great! I mean… I hope you enjoy your visit! I mean…!  _Great!"_  He repeated, nodding to himself.

He seemed confused, by his own awkward words, then he turned around, hurrying towards Washio and to bring back Who-san with the other owls.

"She's gorgeous," Washio commented, glancing from afar at the girl.

"I  _know!_  She thinks I'm handsome!"

"There you go again…" He sighed.

"What?" Koutarou asked, frowning lightly.

"The moment a girl compliments you, you fall head-over-heels for her…"

"I'm not head-over-heels for this girl! And I'm not so easy to seduce!" He mumbled, glancing away, "There's no one like her, anyway…" He added in a breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Who-san stared at Koutarou, as if he understood what he had just said. Once the owl was back in the giant cage with the other owls, he was fed, with a supplementary mouse to apologise for being so late. Koutarou left the owls, eagles, and hawks enclosure. He started walking around to make sure everything was fine and going smoothly – he wasn't looking for anyone at all,  _obviously_.

"Mommy, there's blood! Did the lions kill someone?"

It made Koutarou glance over his shoulder, seeing a mother and his child who was pointing at some place in lion enclosure

"Of course not, honey, it must have come from the meat they ate. Ah, look! There's a zookeeper, why don't you ask him?"

She encouraged him to go towards Koutarou with a little tap on his back. The little kid looked up at him with big eyes, pointing at the traces of blood.

"Did the lions kill someone, sir? Or was it an animal?"

"Of course not, they didn't kill anyone. It's only the meat they were fed not long ago." He answered with a smile.

"Oh! They don't hunt, then?"

"There's not enough room for them to hunt, but to make sure they stay fit we organize games for them. Like hide-and-seek, but instead of finding one of their friends, they look for the meat." He explained carefully.

"Oh! This is so fun! Can we play with them?"

"It's a little dangerous, kiddo," he answered.

"Then, do  _you_  play with them?"

"They play together, like you play with your friends at school."

"Oh!"

The mother thanked him for his explanation as they continued their visit at the zoo. The moment they were gone, Koutarou looked over the rail, and noticed the traces of blood. It was as if it had splashed there and been wiped away. It was discreet enough not to alert the people and he couldn't see any animal injured, but…

He grabbed his talkie-walkie and contacted the infirmary.

"Hey, Komi, has anything happened with the lions?" He asked.

It grizzled then, Komi answered:

" _Bokuto, yeah, one of the lionesses was injured this morning. Just a big scratch from a fight with another last night. She was brought in before the public and you arrived, sorry we didn't warn you. She's already back with the pack."_

"Oh, it's fine then."

" _Something wrong?"_

"I just saw some blood, and I got worried."

" _It's hers, nothing to worry about. The last traces will disappear with tonight's rain."_

"Right. Thanks, Komi."

He ended the conversation and put his talkie-walkie back where it belonged. He was leaning over the rail, observing the lions when someone caught his eye. The dazzling girl from earlier looked up in the same time and grinned.

"Who-san," she greeted, making him laugh, "You also train lions?"

"Ah, these ones aren't trained. We're not a circus, after all. Only some birds of prey and safe animals like otters have been trained, and it was initially mostly to keep them in shape and offer them games to play. It gives us the chance to demonstrate to the public many aspects of these animals that they wouldn't care about otherwise." He explained.

"You seem to care deeply for these animals," she noted, approaching him.

"I do, I wouldn't be a zookeeper otherwise! These animals… all animals, all  _life_ , really, are some of mother nature's most wonderful creations. It's our duty as humans to protect them." He said with a smile, looking over the lions once again.

The green-eyed girl glanced at him, then smiled again.

"It's a beautiful thought."

"Thanks, a lot of people agree, but… not many act."

"The ones who act to protect something against all odds are the bravest, aren't they? They're like, real-life heroes…"

Koutarou turned towards her, just as she seemed to remember something.

"Even though… now, heroes  _do_  exist with all the recent events…"

She chuckled awkwardly, putting a strand of hair behind her ear as he observed her.

"Y-yeah…" He answered, heart clenching lightly in apprehension.

"I guess we should be grateful that people like the Nite Owl exist, but… it's so scary… what our lives have become…" She continued, looking as if she was trying to control her fear.

He kept looking at her, feeling bad for her uneasiness. If only he was a better hero – she might feel more reassured. How many more people were scared of what had become of their lives?

"What do you think, Who-san?" She asked, leaning forward with a smile.

"Oh… uh… it's… you're right. But in my experience, women  _are_  always right," he added.

Her pink lips stretched into a charmed smile as she chuckled lightly, lowering her gaze then looking back up at him from under her long lashes. He was almost out of breath…  _Almost_.

"Umm… you should know… my name isn't really Who-san," he said to hide his embarrassment.

"Oh? Then what is it?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Um… Bokuto– Bokuto Koutarou," he said, showing her his hand.

"Bokuto… like an owl?" She asked, making a cute and confused expression as she took his hand and shook it very lightly.

Her fingers were soft and warm as she let them brush over his – it disturbed him enough that he glanced down at their joined hands, then he was enraptured by the soft move she made pulling away, slowly, almost reluctantly.

"Y-yeah, that's why I like them so much," he answered with an awkward chuckle, "What is  _your_  name?" He asked instead.

"My name is Koizumi Tamiko," she answered with a smile.

He lost his smile at once, his blood turning into ice and his heart suddenly beating faster.

"What?" He said, staring at her in disbelief.

She didn't seem to understand his confusion and repeated carefully.

"My name is Koizumi Tamiko… It's nice to meet you, Bokuto-san," she continued.

It rolled off her tongue so naturally, there was no way she was lying and how could she have possibly lied about… her identity? Or known about Tamiko-chan? She… what was happening? What if he had actually dreamt about Tamiko-chan? The other one? The one who had left him her grandfather's watch– no, there were video recordings of her, she was a missing person, there were  _evidence_  that he hadn't dreamt it all…

"Are you all right?" The second Tamiko asked suddenly.

She leaned forward in worry, putting a hand on his arm to show her concern.

"You don't look okay… Should I call for help? I-I saw there was a medical team near the information center, should we go there?"

"I'm… I'm fine…" Koutarou said, still looking disturbed.

She kept staring at him worriedly just as his talkie-walkie made some noise. He winced, but it put him out of his reverie. He took it and clicked on the button on the side to answer it, turning half-way away from Tamiko-number-two.

"Yeah?"

" _Bokuto, can you go get a bucket of water and supplies to clean up? We need it in the zone 3."_ Shirofuku asked over the talkie-walkie.

"The zone 3? But that's a restricted area." He asked, confused and turning towards said-zone beyond the gorillas and gibbons enclosure that was just behind the lions and tigers.

" _I know, just bring it, okay?"_

"Okay…"

He turned back towards Tamiko-number-two who smiled to him.

"Duty calls?" She said, looking disappointed.

"Yeah…" He answered, still staring at her in disbelief.

She looked nothing like the first Tamiko he had met. She was the complete opposite actually…

"You said… your name is Koizumi Tamiko, right?" He repeated.

She seemed confused by his incapacity of registering her name, but nodded.

"Yes… why?"

"…Nothing… I just… knew someone with that name," he said, shaking his head and not thinking of the consequences of his words.

"Oh… is she… still around?" She asked, sounding disappointed.

"No, not at all, she's… she's missing. One of the many others…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, I didn't know her that well…"

Holding the talkie-walkie in his hand reminded him of Shirofuku's strange request. He straightened up and pointed at the zookeepers' house that wasn't far away.

"Sorry, I must go, but…"

He wanted to see her again – not just because of how beautiful she was or because she had complimented him, but also because… he needed to understand why there were two Koizumi Tamiko he was meeting in such a short amount of time.

She seemed to understand his question and she took out a pen from her purse and with a coy look on her face, she took his hand and wrote her phone number on his palm.

"I'd love to learn more about the animals you take care of, Who-san," she said with an amused smile.

"S-sure…"

She smiled even more and, half-bewitched by her, and half-frightened by her name, he hurried towards the zookeepers' house then went into the restricted zone 3.

He was in such a hurry, he didn't notice someone he bumped into once again today.

"AH, sorry!"

He looked up at the tall and lanky guy with light hair… he must have been half-Japanese with such light hair and eyes… The guy turned lightly towards him, as if lost in a daze.

Koutarou's talkie-walkie rang again and he started running into restricted zone 3. It was a little path that was closed for now – it was mostly used by the zookeepers and the team to ease the ride across all the Ueno Zoo without dealing with public spaces and crowds.

Shirofuku and another zookeeper were standing there, waiting for him.

"Finally! What took you so long?" She asked impatiently.

"I was– nevermind," he answered, lifting up the bucket with everything in it, "Why did you ask me to bring this?"

"We need to clean that up," his colleague answered, pointing behind him.

Koutarou blinked and froze when he saw blood.  _Footprints_  made of blood that were going straight into… the trees and fence that showed the limits of the zoo.

"What the… what happened here?!" He exclaimed.

"We don't know, it's probably fake blood put there by a bunch of kids. Let's just clean it up quickly – I have more important stuff to do right now," Shirofuku said, already turning around to leave the cleaning to them.

"Wait! You're not even remotely  _worried_  there are footprints made of blood here?" Koutarou asked.

"No one would have come here, it's from last night, it must be kids. The fence is easy to climb…" His colleague answered, grabbing a bucket.

Koutarou looked at the series of footprints. They went across the path, straight into nothing – except trees, bushes, and the fence that was extremely easy to climb. On the other side, there was an empty parking lot and the continuation of the city. He followed the human footprints, straight into another area of trees and bushes – there were more footprints left on leaves and then… the human footprints became… pawprints.

He bent down, staring at the path of whatever or whoever had done this. Pawprints, bigger than a lion or tiger's paw, seemed to turn into human footprints and went straight into the city.

Glancing around with furrowed brows, Koutarou – or rather Nite Owl right now – found some large splashes of blood, even against some tree trunks and leaves.

"Oi! Bokuto, where did you go?!" His colleague asked from afar.

He had wandered further away than the others had – it was hard to walk in this almost-forest after all. They probably didn't see the pawprints, or the traces of blood.

"I'm coming!" He answered, quickly pulling out a plastic bag from his pants' pocket.

It usually was used to get poop from some animals if he had to clean up something, but it'll do. He grabbed as many bloody leaves he could then hid them in his pockets before joining his colleague.

"Hey, you're right, just a prank by some kids," he said with a smile.

"Of course it is, no one can bleed like that and keep going."

"Y'know what, I'll finish, you already cleaned up half of it, I'll do the rest," he said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, go."

"Thanks, buddy!"

His colleague stood up and left, happy to leave – he was on the night and morning shift. That might be why they called Koutarou, he needed to leave and rest.

As soon as he was out of view, instead of cleaning up the blood, Koutarou glanced around to make sure there was no one, then after three steps from a run-up, he jumped over the fence and trees. He landed in the parking lot, where there were only five cars. He glanced around and at the ground, but there was no more blood – it must have faded away from the feet of whoever did this.

He took out his phone, then called Kenma.

" _Yeah?"_

"Kenma, could you hack into some security cameras again? I need you to check something from last night, north of the Ueno Zoo, near an abandoned parking lot."

"… _Weird, but okay… I'll call you back when I have info."_

"Thanks!"

He jumped back into the zoo, as easily as if he was stepping over a small wall. Then he cleaned up most of the dried blood.

Later in the evening, as he left work, he received Kenma's call back.

"Yeah?" He answered, focused on his driving.

" _I didn't find any footage that was directly of the parking you told me about. There weren't any cameras around. But about a hundred and fifty meters away, I… saw a weird someone?"_

"Yeah? Why are you hesitating? That's exactly what I'm looking for, a weird someone."

" _It wasn't a weird someone exactly, it was a naked one?"_

"Naked?" Koutarou repeated in disbelief.

" _Yeah, he was butt-naked, walking around like a zombie. Then, he attacked a man and stole all his belongings. The man was too drunk to fight back so it went smoothly, but he reported it to the police. They didn't try anything. They consider it a… normal theft."_

"Okay… so a naked man… stole clothes… That sounds like something a naked man would do." Koutarou said.

" _There's more though… while I was at it, I explored more of what I could find in this police station's database. Something else happened last night. A murder. Quite violent, about a kilometre away from the zoo."_

"A murder? What sort of murder?"

" _I'm sending you the footage of the naked man, and the police file. Look at it yourself, I'm gonna take a nap now."_

"Thanks, Kenma!"

He received all the files just as there was a red light that forced him to a stop. He watched the short footage of, well, a naked man stealing that drunk guy's clothes and belongings. Then, the not-naked-man continued on his way, but was lost from the cameras. It was close to a residential area which meant less cameras. Then, he clicked on the police file that Kenma had stolen from the police station's database. Koutarou winced when he saw the state the murdered man was in. So much blood everywhere it was like… like he had been ripped apart by an animal. No clue found on site about the murderer nor the weapon, no cameras around to record what had happened…

The green light came back so he continued driving. He went home and while having dinner, continued reading the file before regretting doing so while ingesting food. Then, he called Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata, I'm on night and morning duties at the zoo, so I can't go hero-patrolling tonight. Can you handle it yourself?"

" _Sure, Bokuto-san! Leave it to me! I won't disappoint!"_

"And… watch out for… a naked man. Or a beast. Or… both? And, patrol around the residential area in the north of the Ueno Zoo."

" _O-okay? Did something happen?"_

"I'm not sure, it might be unrelated. Just keep your eyes open, okay?"

" _Yes, Bokuto-san!"_

That night, after a few hours of sleep to recover from the day, Koutarou went, still yawning, to the Ueno Zoo. He saluted the night guard at the entrance, then did his usual job, preparing food or checking on the animals. It was so quiet at night, it felt like a completely different place.

Having nothing else to do, his line of thoughts went back to his encounter during the day with Koizumi Tamiko. Was she really a young woman called Koizumi Tamiko? It was too strange an encounter after meeting a superhuman called Koizumi Tamiko just two days ago. Maybe the whole space-time continuum breaking had sent him into another version of the universe. But that didn't seem much like an explanation… not that he understood how space-time continuum or parallel universes worked.

He stood up and went towards another room where all the camera footage was playing on multiple screens.

"Hey," he called to his colleague who was dozing off from his long night, "Do you mind if I look at some recordings from last night and today? I want to check on what happened with the lions." He explained.

"Oh, sure…" He answered, yawning, "You can use that monitor and screen."

He showed him how to watch tapes from a certain day and hour, then went back to watching the black and white screens where nothing happened except two shiny eyes in the night every once in a while – an animal waking up and walking around.

Like he pretended, Koutarou did watch the tape of the lions, but the fight that had led to one of the lionesses being hurt didn't happen anywhere a camera could record. Then, he switched to some other cameras to try and see if they were kids who had pulled a prank the previous night – but there was no camera in the restricted areas, so no clues again…

Then, after a glance over his shoulder at this colleague who was now snoring, he continued exploring the videos. He switched to the ones of the day-time. He watched the recordings from the entrance, waiting to see Tamiko-two. He wanted to get a screenshot of her and send it to Kenma, perhaps he could use his computer skills to find out more about her. But he couldn't see her face from the entrance camera. He switched to another camera, following her through the day, but every time she appeared on screen, she was turned away from the cameras…

He leaned backwards, staring at a paused recording of Tamiko-two, keeping her face hidden. Was it on purpose? Or a coincidence? Another one, after two Tamiko? It was as if she didn't want her face to be recorded by cameras.

Sighing, he stood up just as one of the screens showed something. He frowned, it had been blurry and fast, but he leaned forward, trying to see what was happening, but there was nothing else on the screens.

 _Weird_ … He thought, deciding to go check himself.

_In another part of Tokyo…_

Shouyou put on his hero suit, watching himself in a mirror for a little while. It was a skin-tight suit, made specially to ensure that it wouldn't catch on fire with his super-speed and would remain flexible and practical as he ran and fought. It was much lighter than Nite Owl's suit, because unlike Shouyou, he was doing direct fighting. It was entirely orange – his choice, he had insisted – with black details against his sides. He had thin, white lines around his wrists, over his shoulders and pectorals. His helmet was covering most of his face with tiny wings on the side to remind that he was Nite Owl's sidekick and finally, his boots – specially made to ensure the best running ever – were white with red lines crossing.

"Yoooosh! Time to be a hero!" He exclaimed to himself.

He took a deep breath, then started running – or speeding as he liked saying. For everyone else he was a blur, an orange arrow going through the streets at an impossible speed. But for Shouyou, everything else was just slow. He could see every detail as he ran – the cars on the roads, the people in the restaurants or bars, the couples and friends walking at night, the birds flying over his head.

Following Bokuto-san's orders, he went directly to the north of the city, in the residential area where he had been asked to watch out for a weird naked-beast-man.

As he arrived, he slowed down to be more alert and careful. He made a few turns, but except for some couples arguing in their houses or doing other ~activities~, or children playing later than their curfew allowed them, nothing was amiss…

After a few hours of turning around, he ended up walking, trying to find or see anything that would be strange, but there was nothing. He startled when he heard a sudden sound coming from a bunch of trash bins. He jumped into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself just as the bins fell over in a terrible sound.

"Stop right now, vile creature!" He exclaimed.

He was a little nervous, but he ran full-speed to the bins to take by surprise his opponent – he was there in less than a second. And he frightened two cats. They jumped and hissed at him before running off, but not without making sure they had the fishes they had gotten from the trash bins into their mouths.

Shouyou pouted, rubbing the back of his head. He was just jumpy because of what Bokuto-san had told him. Nothing was happening in this residential area, so he might as well go patrolling in another place.

He was getting ready to run when something captured his attention in the corner of his eyes. He narrowed his gaze at the person– no, animal walking further away down the road.

"What the–"

It was another cat all right – but a  _big_  one. It looked like a lion, white as a ghost in the night, but it was much bigger than a regular lion. It seemed two or three times the size of a normal lion.

The beast was walking calmly, so Shouyou decided to follow him from afar. He walked for almost an hour through the residential area, then went into streets that were filled with shops, restaurants and bars. He was about to get onto a main street, so Shouyou ran to stop the giant lion – but by the time he reached the crowded avenue, he was gone.

"How could I lose a giant white lion in less than five seconds?!" He asked himself.

"Look!"

"Look, it's the Little Giant!"

He startled, realizing that many people have noticed and recognized him.

"Ah, uh… hi!" He said, flushing in embarrassment to be surrounded by a crowd of fans.

"Are you patrolling?"

"Is there a villain to fight?"

"Will Nite Owl come too?!"

Suddenly, he heard some screams. The people didn't have time to turn around before the Little Giant sped through the crowd to get to the victim. A man was on the floor, screaming, and another man – a tall, white-haired naked one – was trying to pull the clothes from him.

"I'm cold!" He said.

"L-leave me alone! Go away!" The man exclaimed.

"I'm… COLD!" He screamed.

His scream turned into a roar and he lifted up his arm to hit the man, but his hand had turned into a big, powerful paw with shining claws. Fast as lightning, Shouyou ran closer and against the closest wall, using it as momentum to jump towards the lion-man and punch him into his face.

"Leave him alone! Go against someone your own size, villain!" He exclaimed.

The man who had been attacked stood up and ran away screaming while the lion-man, who had barely budged despite the power behind that punch, just raised his head. He looked down at Shouyou who suddenly realized that he was much shorter than him… The lion-man's face was a mask of cold anger and his green eyes were shining like a predator's in the night.

"I… am… not…" He said through gritted teeth.

"You're not… what? A villain? Someone who attacks an innocent is a villain!" Shouyou exclaimed, "And if you're a villain, it's my duty as hero to stop you!"

"I'm…  _cold!"_  He shouted.

He jumped forward, hands out. Shouyou jumped upwards and above him while he turned, in an instant into the giant lion. He was suddenly covered in fur, he was showing his teeth angrily and at every paw, there were four sharp claws.

The lion leapt towards Shouyou who ran over the wall and behind him. He grabbed his tail to stop him from getting into the big avenue, but it only angered the lion even more. With unexpected speed and agility, the lion whipped around, hitting him with his powerful paw. Shouyou flew across the small street and against a wall, grunting at the impact before falling on all fours. To end him, the lion threw his paw at him, but Shouyou caught it in his hands. He clenched his teeth, his body shaking from the weight – he wasn't as strong as Nite Owl, he only had speed, he wouldn't–

Just as his arms were about to give out from the strength of the huge feline, he pushed on his legs to jump sideways. The lion fell forward and hit his head against the wall, meowing in pain. He was shaking his head just as Shouyou stood up, trying to find a solution to stop this lion before he attacked people. He had no weapon except his speed and it wouldn't be of much use against these claws or teeth.

The lion was getting over the hit on his head and he turned towards Shouyou, growling, but instead of attacking again, he turned around and ran off. The Little Giant froze in surprise, not by his sudden run, but because of the lion's eyes. The green eyes had been filled with hurt and fear. Such human emotions in this lion made the young hero hesitate…

When he heard panicked screams from the crowd, he startled and screamed:

"Hey! Wait! You can't go there!" Shouyou shouted, running after him.

The lion wasn't attacking people, only running through them. The only victims were the people falling over and scratching their hands or knees in their panic. He hit a few bicycles and random food stands, destroying them.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Shouyou exclaimed as he ran by, trying to help as many people as possible.

The lion was running straight into a family. They screamed and curled up and Shouyou accelerated. He arrived in front of them just as the lion was about to hit them all. The hero used all his strength to stop the lion, trying to grab him directly. The speed at which the lion had been running was such that, even stopped, they slid on the ground. Shouyou felt his feet sliding backwards, towards the family, but he used his powerful legs to keep them grounded.

"Don't be scared!" He told the lion.

But he was too frightened to listen and jumped away from his grip, then used his paw to slash at Shouyou across the chest. He screamed out, falling on the floor just as the lion kept running, scaring people.

"The Little Giant!"

"He's hurt!"

Shouyou didn't listen to the people as he stood up, glancing quickly at his chest – it was bleeding, but it wasn't deep and he had a very fast metabolism, it'd be quickly over. The stinging was already fading. So he started running after the lion who kept using his powerful muscles to run over cars or leap over great distances and barriers. It forced Shouyou to take many turns and twists, which didn't let him catch up to the lion.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, realizing where he was going, "The zoo!"

He pulled out his phone from his side pocket but, distracted, he didn't see the trash bins he was running right into. He tried stopping, but he was taken by his momentum and fell over all the garbage, rolling over a few meters. He smelled now, covered in food leftovers. He winced, and made a face.

"Beeurg…! Come on!" He exclaimed, shaking the banana peels off his arms as he stood up.

He looked for his phone but, in his fall, it had broken in half. No calling Bokuto-san to warn him of the giant lion coming to the zoo. Hopefully, he'll react in time.

"Shoot! I need to catch up to the lion!" He shouted, jumping where he was before continuing running full speed.

At the Ueno Zoo, everything was calm as Koutarou explored everything, making sure there was nothing amiss. The animals were mostly sleeping or quiet, there was no one and the few lampposts gave off a dim light. He was retracing his steps when he noticed a random shoe in the middle of the path. Following it, he found another one, shredded to pieces… and a few steps further, clothes. He bent down, they were torn apart but there was no blood.

"…What…"

Just then, he heard the birds screech and flying in panic, hitting themselves against the cages they were in.

He stood up then started running. All the animals were shouting, roaring or screeching, awaken by some–

A sudden roar startled him. He recognized it, it was coming from the lions!

He ran there as fast as possible, not caring if he was caught on camera using his superhuman speed. When he looked over, he saw all the lions and lionesses, huddled together with the king of the group protecting them against… another lion. A huge, white lion. He had never seen a lion this big – at least twice the size of a regular lion.

Koutarou was about to jump over the fence and into the pit to protect  _his_  lions, but the white one's behaviour stopped him. He wasn't attacking the lions, if anything, the roars of the alpha male was making him step backwards. He was trying to make himself smaller and smaller–

In order to protect his pack, the alpha male of the lions suddenly leapt at the white lion, sending a threatening paw in his direction. The two roared, one to frighten, the other to claim mercy. The white lion's head was hit by the claws of the smaller one and he turned around. He ran over a few meters then leapt. Right towards Koutarou. He bent down just as the giant lion went over him and landed on the main ground.

"Hey!" He shouted.

The white lion turned towards him but, frightened, he ran off. Koutarou tried following him but the beast was too fast and he disappeared in the night. He slowed down, just as an orange arrow ran past him. Hinata stopped then ran back towards him.

"Bokuto-san! Hey! Have you seen a giant, white lion?"

"…Yeah, I have. He ran… over there," he indicated, pointing in the direction the lion had taken.

"Thanks!"

And there went the Little Giant. Koutarou stared at the cloud of dust, an annoyed look on his face.

"Don't wait for me!" He screamed for no one to hear him.

The Little Giant spent the rest of the night looking for the giant lion, but he had disappeared. In the morning, Shouyou and Kenma gathered at the Nest, trying to find any clue on where he had gone. As soon as the rest of the team could gather, they went there.

"I didn't find anything on social media about a giant lion, except the sighting when you fought him off, Hinata," Tsukishima said, looking through all his social media accounts to try and find a clue.

"The cameras lose him around a kilometre south of the Ueno Zoo, then, nothing. I didn't find any naked man either," Kenma added.

"We need to find him, he is dangerous and needs to be arrested," Akaashi said.

Hinata glanced at him, hesitating. It was noticed by Kuroo who raised his eyebrow, silently encouraging him to speak up.

"I don't think he wants to be dangerous, though," he said.

"What do you mean?" Akaashi asked, while Bokuto turned around.

"I saw his eyes… he was scared. I don't think he understands what is happening to him." Hinata explained.

"I agree with Hinata," Bokuto said, "His behaviour with the other lions was one of an outcast. A lion needs a pack. He can't survive on his own. He was rejected by both humans and lions… he's on his own and frightened. When we face him again, we'll have to be careful. I doubt that communication could get through to him when he's panicking…"

"So you want to capture him and bring him  _here?"_  Kuroo said with wide eyes.

"It's the only way to help him," Bokuto said with a nod.

"How do you capture a giant werelion, though?" Tsukishima asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Easy, like you capture a regular lion," he answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, coz that's  _totally_  easy…" Kenma muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I could get some tranquilizer from the zoo, a dose high enough that it'll knock him off. Then we'll bring him here while he's unconscious. Hinata will need to distract him while I shoot the tranquilizer though. Will you be alright?" he asked.

"No problem! I can handle him all right!"

"Hold on," Kuroo intervened, "Are you sure this is a good idea? We don't know if it's a human who can turn into a lion, or a lion into a human–"

"Isn't it the same thing?" Hinata asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"No, we don't know how an animal tranquilizer will act on a superhuman with the mutated DNA. And the same thing goes for a lion with mutated DNA. It might kill him, it might not work on him."

"Then, we'll just have a back-up plan if it doesn't work," Bokuto said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"You're the zookeeper,  _you_  tell us what to do on that one," Kenma said, leaning forward and resting against his desk.

"I don't know, I guess a net will do the trick," he answered shrugging.

"Are you taking this seriously?" Kuroo asked, frowning.

"Of course I am! That's the best way without injuring him! If we can get a big enough capture throw net… I'll look into what we have at the zoo. Ah, and I collected these yesterday."

He took out the plastic bag with the bloodied leaves and gave to Kuroo.

"I think it's from the werelion, but I'm not certain if it's his blood or our lioness' at the zoo." Bokuto said.

"I'll look into what I can get from this."

Noticing the dark marks under his eyes, Akaashi spoke up.

"You should rest, both of you. We'll need you in good shape to capture this werelion." He said, looking at Bokuto and Hinata.

"You're right, Akaashi-san! Like always!" Hinata piped up happily.

Akaashi smiled and ruffled his hair, earning him an even bigger smile from the young man.

"We'll keep you updated if anything happens," Kenma said.

For the next three days, Nite Owl and the Little Giant couldn't do anything. Barely anything was heard from the werelion, except for some stolen clothes, or some people or animals who had been killed to feed him… Kuroo did some DNA tests on the blood found on the leaves and it was indeed a mix of several DNA: a regular lion that probably belonged to the lioness; something close to a lion, but not quite, and something close to a human, but different. The last two had the superhuman gene which confirmed that their werelion had become so after the meteor – but there was no way to know if he had been human or lion first.

But one morning, when Koutarou went to the Ueno Zoo, he quickly noticed the strange atmosphere. His coworkers were mostly quiet and Komi was the darkest of all.

"What happened?" He asked, frowning.

"Something happened last night…" Shirofuku told him in a hushed voice, "The night team noticed some commotion happening. They went there and found a lion, but much bigger than a normal one and white. He was… he was devouring some gibbons."

"Oh no…"

That was why Komi, the head veterinary was so dark – and Koutarou finally noticed that there were several small bodies that were being transported by some of the zookeepers, covered in white sheets.

"It was already too late for two when the night team arrived, two others were injured… there was nothing Komiyan could do…"

They had lost four gibbons because of the werelion…

"Hiroshi-kun has been injured too, he's in the hospital."

"What?!"

"He tried to stop the… that beast, but it attacked him. Almost ripped off his arm, we don't know if he'll make it, or if he'll even be able to use his arm ever again…" Shirofuku explained, her eyes filled with tears and her face dark.

"Okay… uh, what do we do then?"

She turned towards him, shaking lightly her head:

"There's nothing we can do, we're just… we're just zookeepers, Bokuto. We can only pray that Hiroshi-kun will get better and that the army will catch this damn beast before it kills more of our animals."

"Wait– the army? You called the  _army?!"_  He exclaimed with wide eyes.

"What did you want me to do?! It's too big and violent to be handled by our teams! And what if it's one of these… mutant things? It's best the army handles it… The gorillas and gibbons enclosure is closed for today from the public though… I hope… I hope the animals will get over their shock soon."

She walked away to handle the crisis while Koutarou swallowed hard. She had been right to call the army for help, but that meant that the werelion's fate might already be decided. The werelion was mostly active at night, which meant that next night, no matter what, Hinata and him will have to capture him safely. Before the army shot him like some wild beast. Now, more than ever, Koutarou was certain that the werelion was conscious, he was alone, afraid and probably hungry. He needed help, not a death sentence.

He sent a message to his team, who understood the urgency of the situation. Now that the army was involved, it was a good thing that Kenma had already erased some of the recordings from the other night when Bokuto had used his superspeed and talked with the Little Giant in plain sight. With everyone distracted by the gibbons' death, it was easy for Koutarou to take several tranquilizer doses, the gun to go with it, and a very big animal capture throw net. He put everything in his car, but just as he was closing the car trunk, a voice spoke up behind him.

"I was waiting for your call."

He jumped with an unmanly, high-pitched scream, almost falling over the car trunk when he recognized the girl who had just spoken up.

"Oh! Tamiko… Koizumi-san! I…! I'm so sorry! I intended to call you, I swear! But when I was washing my hands, the number went away before I could write it down…! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," she answered with a smile, "I did think something might have happened…"

She glanced at the zoo, that could be seen from the parking lot reserved to the employees.

"I heard that some animals were attacked… Was it from another animal? Or by… humans?"

"Oh, it was–"

He didn't know if he could share the information, and he would certainly not say anything that might compromise tonight's mission.

"A few of our gibbons were killed by another animal, but we have everything under control now," he said, trying to remain as vague as possible.

Tamiko noticed the way he didn't look at her when he said that, and the subtle, almost imperceptible way his eyes turned to the left – the sign of  _lying_. He wasn't telling her the whole truth, but she didn't blame him.

"It must be so hard to lose animals in such a way…" She said, leaning forward and putting a comforting hand on his arm.

"It's… it's not easy, especially for my friend who is also the veterinary… He tried very hard to save them."

He looked down, feeling guilty. His hair fell over his eyes, but before he could push it back, Tamiko gently pulled it behind his ear with a compassionate smile.

"But how many animals did he save before last night?" She asked, pulling away slowly.

"Too many to count," he answered with a smile.

Receiving a message on his phone, he was reminded that he needed to join the others.

"I must go. Hopefully, I'll see you again." He said, truly thinking so.

She smiled as he got into his car and drove off. Once he was out of sight, she walked towards her own motorbike that was further down the street. She climbed on it, but didn't start the engines right away, making a phone call before that.

" _Yes, Shiori?"_

"Wakatoshi, I've got the DNA sample you asked me to get," she said, putting the single hair she had gotten from Bokuto in a plastic bag.

" _Good. Keep it safe. Did you put the tracker on his civilian clothes?"_

"Yes, I'm about to start following him."

" _I'm counting on you, Shiori. Be careful with this giant lion wandering around."_

"You too…"

She ended the call with a sigh, putting the plastic bag into her pocket and starting her engines, following the red dot on her phone's map. Bokuto Koutarou. The first time she had put a tracker on him, it had been on his zookeeper clothes, not realizing that he was changing at the zoo directly. It had been useless – which was why she had gone back, to put another tracker on him and get a DNA sample. She started following him.

Meanwhile, after receiving a message from Akaashi telling him to join him at the family business headquarters building instead of the Nest, Koutarou was driving over there. His suit had been updated once again, strengthened with a special fabric to make sure the claws wouldn't tear through the clothes and injure him, at least not like it was nothing more but rice paper like Hinata's hero costume had been. Hinata's hero costume had also been fixed and remade.

He changed clothes directly to make sure it fit, Adelaide, Akaashi's fiancée, checking that everything was fine. She was the one taking care of their hero costumes and even though she didn't want to be any more involved than that, she could be trusted. Then, careful not to be caught by anyone, Akaashi and Bokuto went to the underground parking, taking the young CEO's car and going to the Nest.

"Addie-chan looked super nervous," Bokuto commented on their way there.

"She doesn't like what we're doing. She thinks it's dangerous."

"Well! It's not the safest hobby in the world, that's certain!" He laughed.

"By the way, Kenma managed to reduce the location of where the werelion might be tonight." He continued calmly.

They arrived at the Nest where everyone was already waiting.

"Bokuto-san! Look at my new costume!" Hinata exclaimed, jumping up and down, "It's sparkling, it's so cool!"

"The fabric was made with metallic threads to ensure more safety, that's why it's sparkling," Kuroo explained.

"Are you ready?" Tsukishima asked.

"I've got everything." Bokuto answered, lifting up the big sports bag in which there was everything necessary for the capture of the werelion.

"Let's go over the plan once again," Akaashi said, turning towards the two heroes.

"I distract the werelion while Bokuto-san shoots him with the tranquilizer! Then, as soon as there's an opportunity, he throws the net at him! Then, we take the werelion into the Nite Car!"

"Good, Tsukishima-kun, you will drive the Nite Car." Akaashi decided, throwing the keys at the young man.

" _Me?_  Why me? Why not one of you?"

"I need Akaashi to back me up here," Kenma said, "And Kuroo needs to stay here to be ready to help them if they get injured. And didn't you say you might need to cover it for an article? You'll be there, that way."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, not wanting to spend his evening, or night, in the middle of danger but he didn't have a choice.

"Let's go then!" Bokuto exclaimed suddenly, pushing both of the younger boys towards the elevator that would take them to the underground parking where the hero car, the Nite Car, awaited them.

"And remember it's a normal car! With fancy painting on it! Don't do anything extravagant with it!" Akaashi exclaimed from afar.

Bokuto winked at him with an enthusiastic smile as the elevator doors closed on him.

"Something is gonna go wrong, I can feel it," Kuroo said.

"Don't be a bad omen cat, will you?" Kenma answered.

_In another part of the city…_

The werelion had stolen more clothes and was hugging himself from the cold of the night. He was walking through the streets, looking for familiar faces, but he didn't recognize anyone. He stopped suddenly, staring at the big poster in front of a movie theatre. Swan Lake, a ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky… this name wasn't Japanese, that much the werelion could tell. But it didn't seem foreign either, not to him.

Without thinking, he entered the movie theatre and walked to the entrance where a man was selling tickets for the various movies.

"I want to see this," the werelion said, pointing at a poster of Swan Lake.

"Swan Lake? It'll be two-thousand and two-hundred yen, sir. It's a special performance from Moscow."

"Moscow…" He repeated, the name rolling off his tongue easily.

The man blinked, nodding. The werelion noticed some people going into the room where the Swan Lake poster was, so he started following them.

"Wait, sir! You need to buy a ticket!" The man exclaimed.

Standing up, he could now see the strange outfit of the man, way too short for his long limbs and…

"A-and, you must wear shoes to enter the cinema…!"

The werelion followed his gaze, and wiggled his toes. It didn't bother him, except that the cold outside made his feet numb.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to go now…" The man continued, showing him to exit.

The werelion froze, and frowned.

"But I want to see! I want to see the swans and the Moscow lake!"

"It's not– please, leave, sir!"

"I… want to… SEE!" He shouted, his voice turning into a roar.

The man screamed, falling backwards and more people shrieked, backing away when they heard that roar coming from the werelion. Fur started covering his skin and his eyes shone a golden light before he felt his entire body warming up, his limbs twitching… Now angry, and hungry like he always seemed to be lately, he roared again. His clothes tore apart, falling to pieces on the ground as he turned into a gigantic lion.

The people screamed, then ran away from the movie theatre just as the werelion ran towards the doors leading into the performance of Swan Lake. He broke through them, roaring ferociously as he entered the dark room. The people who first noticed him startled and screamed and quickly, more shouts resonated. Completely panicked, the people started running away with shrieks and cries, jumping over the seats frantically, not caring if they fell or ran over other people.

The werelion roared and jumped into the middle of the seats that broke under his weight. He moved his paw against the last few people who ran away from him, but quickly, he was all alone in the movie theatre. His big, shining green eyes stared at the giant screen.

There was no swan, no lake, no Moscow, nothing he had hoped he'd find… Nothing.

He was so focused on the screen that he didn't notice three people entering the room quietly. They held their guns up, ready to shoot at the creature. One of them started to turn off the safety – this slight, barely audible sound was enough to make the werelion's ears twitch. He turned around and saw danger. He roared and jumped as they fired. His angry roar turned into one of pain when he felt a burning pain shooting through his side, but already, his giant paw made one of the soldiers fly over the seats and to the other side of the theatre. Before the two other soldiers could fire at him, their guns, and their arms were shred apart. They fell to the ground, barely conscious as the werelion ran away. More soldiers were waiting for him and they fired, but with roars, of fear, anger and pain, he made his way through it, breaking the glass doors of the movie theatre.

"He's here!" A soldier shouted.

Two trucks of soldiers were waiting for him and they tried shooting. The werelion almost ran away from it before understanding that he'd be shot way too easily – he didn't want to die…! Why did everyone try to hurt him like that?! He only wanted to find his pack!

So he ran straight towards the soldiers and their big trucks.

"Hold your positions!" The Major General Ushijima shouted.

But his men still backed away at the sight of a ferocious beast running to them. The werelion didn't shred them apart though, just as they shot at him, he jumped high and far away. He landed in a street full of people and ran, ran away as fast as his four legs would take him.

"Follow him!" Ushijima ordered, smoothly slipping back into the car.

The military trucks started to manoeuvre to follow the creature, but the crowd in the streets made it difficult and slow, they quickly lost sight of the beast.

As the werelion was running, almost out of breath and his entire body aching from the bullets and exhaustion, something orange went past him. He was distracted a short moment just as someone appeared in front of him, running backwards.

"Hey! Everything will be fine, big guy!" He exclaimed.

The werelion recognized him – finally something familiar…! But it was the 'hero' who had tried to stop him the other day and had forced him to go find refuge with the other lions who had chased him away…

The werelion, confused that someone, or something, was running in front of him – no one else had managed to do that so far – suddenly stopped. The orange hero stopped as well, carefully standing in a defensive stance. People all around were screaming and running away, their panic getting to the werelion whose heart was beating like drums.

The giant lion glanced around, people running everywhere, their screams so loud. Was he the one scaring them? He didn't want to–

Someone fell over about a meter from him and, in his fright, he instinctively tried to slash her.

"Stop!"

The orange hero stood in front of the woman and tried stopping his paw, but his claws only brushed the clothe. There was no injury, but another slash at the front of his clothes, and even the metallic threads wouldn't hold on.

Something fell behind the werelion and he jumped around, trying to attack the food stand. The orange hero ran in front of him once again, hands raised.

"Hey! Eyes on me! Stay calm, everything will be fine!" He exclaimed with a smile that was trying to be reassuring – but he was nervous and kept glancing around, "Nite Owl! What are you waiting for to shoot him?!"

" _There are too many people running, I might hit them! And he keeps moving around! Get him away from this street! There's a park just two blocks from here!"_

"Hey, big guy!" The Little Giant shouted, trying to attract the attention of the werelion, and failing.

The lion started running, but at least he was going towards Nite Owl and the park he had indicated. When Nite Owl saw him running towards him, he came out of the small street he was hiding in, and started running parallel to the lion. The Little Giant was speeding too – but to pull and push people away from the lion and the superhero, to make sure nothing and no one would get injured.

Shiori, who had stopped waiting for Bokuto to get out of that building where he had met his friend, was driving full speed towards town where the werelion was attacking. That meant her cousin was also there, and possibly Nite Owl if the panicked information she was receiving was correct.

She was driving past a park just as she saw a flock of people running away, screaming, from a main street. She slowed down and just as she was arriving near the street, she heard a warning, but it was too late – she was hit by the werelion running full speed. Her motorbike flew on the ground and she flew into the air, panicked for a second before her training seeped into her limbs. She landed on the ground and rolled on her side to reduce the damage. She felt her right arm burning, but she was safe and sound… Or so she thought because when she looked up, the werelion was jumping at her. Her reflex was to grab her gun hidden in her jacket, but she was only human and not fast enough–

A figure in dark blue suddenly punched the werelion, sending him flying to the ground. Her heart missed a beat, recognizing Nite Owl. He sent her a quick look that said 'get to safety' and before she could even thank him, he was jumping at the werelion. Something grabbed her and after a quick flush of wind, she stumbled, suddenly far away from the scene and the Little Giant was running back, an orange arrow, towards the fight.

Nite Owl had punched the werelion a few times, using all his strength, which was enough to get him confused long enough for the hero to give his instructions to his sidekick.

"Little Giant! I dropped everything on the other side of the street – you need to be the one to shoot and throw the net!"

" _What! What?! WHAT?!"_  He shouted as answer.

"You can do it, I believe in you!"

From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Little Giant arriving near the whole stock of weapons he had left to save that girl. He picked up the gun, trying to figure out how it worked.

Nite Owl jumped after the werelion and grabbed him from behind, forcing the animal into an uncomfortable position that made him roar in pain. He kept his strong arms around his neck, careful not to strangle him, but firm enough to immobilise him as much as he could to stop a creature of that size.

"Aim for the neck! NOW!" He shouted.

The Little Giant shot, he missed the neck, but it did hit the werelion in the chest. The problem was that it hurt him and gave him the strength necessary to get rid of Nite Owl's lock on his neck. He jumped away so suddenly the hero couldn't do anything. Then, the werelion turned around, slashing ferociously across his chest with enough strength that it tore through the metallic threads. Nite Owl grunted, feeling the sting of an injury, jumping away to avoid another paw. He was stepping backwards, unable to attack or defend himself against the ferocious animal.

" _It's not working! Nite Owl, he's still moving!"_  The Little Giant shouted in his mic.

"I noticed!"

" _Shoot another tranquilizer, with his size, he might need another dose,"_  Kuroo said into their ears, watching thanks to Kenma having hacked into the video surveillance of a nearby shop.

"Ah, uh…! AH!"

While Nite Owl was trying not to get ripped apart, the Little Giant bent down, opening the box of other tranquilizer doses and trying to get one into the gun, struggling with it for a moment.

"Nite Owl!" He called to warn him he was ready to shoot again.

The hero was distracted shortly enough that the werelion jumped on him, digging his long claws into his shoulders and trying to bite at his neck. Under the weight of the animal, Nite Owl fell backwards and despite the pain in his shoulders, he managed to lift up his legs and kick as strongly as possible the lion. He flew over his head and behind him.

"Shoot now!" He ordered, standing up.

The Little Giant, letting his tongue out of his lips in focus, aimed and shot. Nite Owl startled when he felt something stinging his neck. He brought up his hand and tore off the tranquilizer. He turned towards his sidekick who, even from afar, paled.

"NOT ME, YOU DUMBASS!" He shouted.

The dose was high enough for a lion, and even if he was a superhuman, it wouldn't take long to have effect on him.

In his distraction state of being shot by a tranquilizer strong enough to kill him, he forgot the werelion. The creature jumped at him, trying once again to rip him off and bite his head off. Nite Owl managed to be fast enough to grab his jaws, the teeth tearing through his gloves and into the palms of his hands. Drops of blood rolled down his hands and onto his face as he gritted his teeth in pain, trying to keep the powerful lion off. His arms were trembling under the pressure of the incredible creature.

The werelion tried to force his jaws closed to bite off his hands, but he was too strong – in his confusion and annoyance, he pulled away first, which earned him a kick from the hero. He fell on his side, Nite Owl standing up again.

"Throw the net now! Before he moves again! But wait until I'm–"

The Little Giant dropped the gun and grabbed the net, throwing it with all its strength.

Nite Owl didn't finish his sentence as the throw net fell on him  _and_  the werelion. It weighed him down and forced him onto one knee while the lion growled in annoyance.

"WAIT UNTIL I'M AWAY FROM HIM!" He shrieked, trying to get away from the net but he kept tangling himself.

" _I'm sorry!"_

The werelion was starting to get back to himself and with his moves restricted, he'd let out his fury on the only one he could touch right now: Nite Owl. The hero swallowed hard.

"Shoot him! Shoot him now, another tranquilizer! Little Giant, shoot him NOW!"

The werelion growled ferociously at Nite Owl, starting to stand up and about to jump at him from under the net, despite the weights slowing him.

The Little Giant, who had started running towards them to help Nite Owl out of the net suddenly stopped, sliding on the ground and hesitating. He turned around to run back towards the gun he had left on the ground. Before he could do a step though, the werelion leapt towards Nite Owl who screamed. A whistling sound resonated and the werelion stopped, shrieking in pain. He moved around, trying to tear the restricting net and Nite Owl noticed the perfect shot of the tranquilizer into his neck.

The lion shook his head, trying to paw at his neck to get rid of the annoying sting. But now, after such an intense fight, with exhaustion and hunger, and a double dose of tranquilizer, the werelion was wearing out. He wavered on his legs, looking confused and scared. Nite Owl held his breath but suddenly, the werelion fell down on his side, unconscious  _at long last_ …

He looked up and saw that the Little Giant hadn't moved from his previous spot, and both heroes were staring at the one who had shot the werelion. Major General Ushijima. A perfect shot, from the perfect soldier.

The Major General, and some of his men had ended up running to the scene of the fight instead of trying to get there by driving.

"Sir, your orders!" Shirabu exclaimed, arriving and putting himself in position.

Most of the Shiratorizawa Special Forces surrounded the werelion and the two heroes just as Major Ushijima lowered the gun he had used to put the werelion to sleep.

The Little Giant helped Nite Owl out of the net, helping him stand straight after all the injuries he had gone through – and the tranquilizer was starting to have effect.

"Sir! Your orders! Should we shoot them here and now?!" Shirabu continued, ready to shoot the two superhumans who had been showing off as 'heroes' for weeks now.

" _I have them both in my line of shot, I can take them out now, Ushijima,"_  Yamagata said, hidden from his spot as sniper somewhere on a nearby building.

"Wait, everyone, I want to see what they'll do." Ushijima said quietly, observing from afar the two heroes.

Shirabu glanced at him, confused, but he followed the gaze of his leader. All the people who had been running away a moment ago, were now filming and watching in awe the two heroes who had taken down the werelion. Just like the army, Nite Owl and the Little Giant were becoming more and more popular, if not more. If the army stopped them now, especially in something similar to a public execution, it'll be bad for the image of the army, for  _everyone_. The army was keeping everyone in check, but the  _heroes_  were the ones giving hope to everyone.

A car, painted in various colours that almost hurt the eyes, suddenly arrived from the other side. It spun around so that the wide car trunk could be opened. Nite Owl carried the werelion in the car, still in the net, and then the Little Giant climbed in. Nite Owl was about to follow, despite his grogginess, but he glanced over his shoulder, at the Major General Ushijima.

The Major gave the slightest of nod – he was letting them go for now, he trusted them. Like a silent pact, Nite Owl nodded back, then got into the car that drove off.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Wakatoshi-kun?" Tendou asked, "I couldn't get into their minds, they were too far away."

"…They're fighting for justice, they aren't hurting anybody. There's no need to arrest them for now."

"You mean, until Washijou-san orders us to stop them?"

They turned around towards the one who had spoken up, just as Shiori took off her motorbike helmet, shaking her hair out. Wakatoshi frowned lightly, not appreciating she had come here – and from the state of her jacket, she had been injured by not listening to his orders.

"Until they are a danger to the people they protect," he answered in a hard voice.

"A danger they might become by their own mistakes," Reon added, glancing back at the crowd of people.

"Clean up this mess, and collect some samples of the blood Nite Owl left behind," Ushijima ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

"Shiori, the DNA sample from your target please," he added, holding out his hand.

She stared at him, then slowly took out the plastic bag in which there was his hair.

"Nite Owl saved my life."

"He saved many lives tonight."

She handed him the plastic bag, unsure of what this meant. Even if she had grown up with him, her cousin was sometimes nothing more than a mystery.

As they were driving off, Koutarou took off his helmet while Hinata went on and on, apologizing for his mistakes and for almost killing him. Tsukishima spoke up from the driver seat, but his words didn't reach Nite Owl. With all his injuries and the adrenaline going down, the tranquilizer was starting to affect him, and fast. He dropped on his side, unconscious. It provoked a series of panicked shrieks from Hinata – and loud scolding from Tsukishima who tried to maintain the car into a semblance of order.

When Koutarou woke up hours later, his torso and arms were covered in bandages from the previous night's fight against the werelion. He was still feeling groggy, but at least, the tranquilizer hadn't killed him.

He stood up, grunting, even if he was mostly healed thanks to Kuroo's treatment and his fast recovery abilities, his body was still numb. He put on his shirt then joined the others who were talking in the main room.

"Hey! You're awake!"

"Bokuto-san, I'm so sorry!" Hinata exclaimed, tears in his eyes, "I didn't mean to shoot you or imprison you with Lev, I'm sorry!"

"It's fine… Wait,  _Lev?"_

"That's what we called him," Akaashi explained, "That's all he said earlier when we asked him if he had a name. He seems to have a thing for Russian things and 'Lev' means 'lion'. He's probably confused. He woke up quickly, ate then he went back to sleep."

"I see…"

"Talking about the wolf… well, in that case, the  _lion_ , he just woke up." Kenma indicated.

He typed on his computer and the image appeared on the screen. 'Lev' was awake, in his human form and wearing clothes lent to him by Tsukishima (the only one whose height was close enough), and sitting quietly.

"Let's go see him, then," Bokuto said.

They all followed him downstairs, where they had transformed rooms into comfortable cells that could hold superhumans and keep them inside, for the dangerous ones they might capture in the future.

They arrived in front of 'Lev' who looked up when they arrived, and observed them one after another, with curious green eyes.

"Hey! How are you?" Bokuto asked him with an enthusiastic smile.

He stared at him, remaining silent a moment… then, he spoke up, almost hesitantly.

"…You didn't kill me?"

They blinked, confused about his question.

"Why would we do that? We want to help you!" Hinata exclaimed.

"…Really?"

" _Really_. We're sorry we locked you up, but we were worried you might be afraid and attack us when you woke up," Bokuto said.

And before anyone could react, he pushed the button that opened the cell.

"OI! Bokuto! That's still dangerous!" Kuroo exclaimed.

"He won't attack us now, right, Lev? That's what you're called?" Bokuto continued, calm despite having opened the cell of the werelion.

Lev glanced at the opened door, then at the others' faces, then back at Bokuto's relaxed demeanour.

"You're not afraid of me? Everyone else was…"

"We defeated you though, right? Which means you're no threat to us." He continued with a smile, "And there's no need to be afraid if you won't attack us."

"What makes you so certain he won't attack?" Kenma asked, a little nervous and hiding behind Kuroo.

Bokuto opened his lips, but Lev was the one to answer.

"I can't attack my alpha. You defeated me, so you're stronger than me…"

"W-well, yeah but… I don't want you to see me as an alpha you owe obedience to or whatever, just because I beat you in a fair fight. Well as fair as it could get when my sidekick repeatedly tried to kill me." Bokuto continued, opening the door entirely just as Hinata made a strangled sound of guilt.

Everyone held back the urge to step away, but Bokuto's tranquillity appeased them. Lev looked up just as he held out his hand to him.

"I'd rather you think of us as your friends. Let us help you, Lev. We can."

Lev hesitated, then he put his hand into Bokuto's and the hero smiled.

After a cheerful meal where Bokuto, Hinata, and Lev all devoured kilos of food – they were all famished and, according to Kuroo, it confirmed the two heroes were just animals – they sat to discuss.

"Where do you come from?" Kuroo asked the werelion.

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" Akaashi inquired.

He shook his head, looking a little lost.

"Nothing before I woke up. I think I was a human, but I turned into a lion, and I was in the forest. But then I walked in the city and when I saw the humans… I turned into one again."

He stared at his own hands, as if he couldn't really understand what had happened, or what he was supposed to be.

"When was that?" Kenma asked.

"I'm confused… I often forgot how much time went by, and I spent a lot of time asleep, either as a lion or a human… It's only been a week since I've been able to be fully conscious and control my transformation… sort of…"

"You really have no memory from before you woke up in the forest?" Tsukishima asked for confirmation.

Once again, he shook his head no.

"I was hungry all the time whenever I transformed, and I smelled animals… animals like me."

He turned towards Bokuto who nodded with thin lips.

"The Ueno Zoo, that's why you went there. Because you could smell animals you could hunt… and a pack of lions. But they rejected you, twice. That's why the lioness was hurt, you got into a fight that first night. And when you came back again to seek their help, they made it clear they didn't want you."

"Humans were scared of me, and lions thought I wasn't one of them… I didn't know where to go, I was hungry all the time…"

He closed his eyes, as if trying to chase bad memories…

"These people  _I_ … are  _they…?"_

The team of heroes glanced at each other, thinking of the few victims.

"It's okay, Lev!" Hinata exclaimed with a bright smile, attracting everyone's attention on him, "I mean… it's not okay to kill people – especially to eat them… But you didn't have control over your transformations and your hunger! You were only following your instincts and you were scared and alone! But now, you're not!"

He showed the rest of the team with his arms, grinning.

"We can help you! We can take care of you, so you're not hungry or alone! We can protect you from the army! And perhaps your memories will come back and we'll be able to help you find your family again!"

"You think I have a family? That they're looking for me?" He asked hopefully.

Kuroo and Bokuto glanced at each other, then shared a smile.

"You have a lot of recent events to catch up on, but a lot of people are looking for their families. It might take some time, but we'll find yours too. 'Lev' is a good clue to start… it's not a name we find very often." Kuroo said reassuringly.

"Given it's his real name," Kenma remarked.

"I think it is, it suits him! Right, Lev?" Hinata continued.

Lev nodded vividly.

"If you're going to stay here, though," Kenma continued, "NO transformation, got it? Or you ask one of us and you make sure not to go into beast-mode. I don't want to work constantly looking over my shoulder because of a hungry lion."

"Understood, Kenma-san!" Lev exclaimed, "Thank you all!"

"Welcome to the team, then…" Akaashi said with a smile.

"What a weird pack we are!" Lev commented, and if it took them by surprise, they all chuckled at the term of 'pack' and quite rightly… they  _were_  a weird pack.

_At the night, in the Miyagi Police Station…_

After a quick meeting for the Shiratorizawa Special Forces team, they were dismissed and the locals became quiet. Except for one room in which Shiori was typing on a computer, the only one still in the headquarters. She wanted to see the results of the DNA test comparison of Nite Owl and Bokuto's samples herself. The result was supposed to appear soon, and with everyone gone, she'll knew what to do.

She wasn't surprised when the results were positive for a superhuman in both cases… and that the DNA matched. Even without this DNA, Wakatoshi had concluded earlier that he was practically certain he knew the identity of the Nite Owl – there were too many clues leading to Bokuto Koutarou, especially after the materials he used to capture the werelion… Only a zookeeper would have access to such devices. But still… if she could–

"What are you doing, Shi-chan?"

She jumped, turning around and seeing Tendou leaning against the doorway.

"…You can read minds, Satori, you  _know_  what I'm doing."

"If Wakatoshi-kun learns, he won't be happy that you're tampering his investigation on who the Nite Owl is."

"He doesn't care anyway! They have a pact of sort, now! But…"

"But?"

"He saved me. He didn't have to, but he saved me from the werelion…" She continued, lowering her voice, "And I can't help but think that Washijou-san is–"

" _Hush_. Don't say it. Not here, not outloud. Are you mad?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes at her.

She glanced up at him, unimpressed. All the soldiers admired  _and_  feared Washijou – but she wasn't a soldier. She was a spy. And apparently the only one thinking clearly at the moment.

"His decisions may seem rash, and… against our mission… but everything he does, it's for the sake of humanity's survival after that betrayal from these damn crows. If they hadn't messed up…"

He closed his eyes and sighed. Once calm again, he looked back at his best friend.

"Shi-chan, I don't want you to get in trouble. Step away from this computer. Leave it to us."

"Nite Owl is important for the people, for humanity! He's giving them hope… we can't stop him. Not now, not anytime soon. The army is controlling everything and knowing that chaos is avoided pleases the people, but they're not reassured by  _us_. The  _heroes_ , on the other hand… only get praised. Did you read the new article from The Moon? Relating the events from last night and the capture of the werelion? People are  _ecstatic_  about the success of Nite Owl and the Little Giant!"

"We  _know_ , and this is why Wakatoshi-kun is leaving them be. As long as they stay out of our way, we'll leave them to do their hero-work." Tendou answered seriously, "You're right that our control over this new world isn't reassuring the people, but if they believe in the heroes, and we can control  _them_ … We'll still avoid chaos."

"So  _that's_  your goal?" She asked, dark and frowning, "To use Nite Owl's identity against him? Control him? He won't obey you, he's not a puppet."

"He already is," he answered with a wide grin, "He just doesn't know it."

Satori grabbed a chair and sat next to Shiori as she looked at the results of the DNA test.

"Shi-chan, where's this urge to protect the Nite Owl coming from? Don't tell me you have a crush on him, he's not your type…"

She sent him a dangerous look and he chuckled, knowing very well what she felt and thought because he had entered her mind. She simply couldn't trust Washijou-san's decisions and she wanted Nite Owl and the other heroes to remain a barrier against the dangerous superhumans in case the army failed their mission.

"I'm going to modify the DNA results. If you want to stop me, you can  _try_." She said in a mocking tone.

"I don't want to die~! Even though a death from your hands would be a happy one~!" He hummed with a wink, knowing full well she was a thousand times more qualified to kill him with her bare hands than he could ever be.

"Then, get out of this room if you don't want anything to do with this."

"Your cousin knows you well enough to figure out if someone intentionally altered the results, and he'll figure out it's  _you_  right away. No need to be a mind-reader for that." Tendou continued, staring at her curiously.

"I know that, but he won't do anything. He already knows the identity of Nite Owl anyway, he won't care much about one DNA test. As long as Nite Owl stays out of my cousin's way, he'll be fine."

"What makes you think you're safe from Wakatoshi-kun's wrath though?" He asked, confused by her confidence – no one would dare disobey or go against Ushijima Wakatoshi, it'd be suicide…

She turned to him, blinking, as if confused by his question. Then she answered with an easy smile, as if it was obvious.

"We're family. He won't do anything to me."

Satori didn't answer, and finally noticed the light brown file resting on the desk.

"A new mission?" He inquired, tilting his head on a side.

"Yes, now that we have our answer concerning Bokuto Koutarou, there's no need for me to investigate him anymore."

"Mmm…~"

"And… my tricks wouldn't work on him anyway," she added carefully.

"What do you mean? Almost everyone always falls for you, Shi-chan~! That's why you're our best spy~!"

"He didn't call me. Which means… he's already in love with someone else." She concluded with a soft expression.

"As far as I remember, there was no lady in his life~! Or is it a young man? Unrequited love? Past love? I'm curious, now~!"

"Who knows? Unlike you, I can't get into people's heads," she answered with an overly sweet smile.

"You and I both know that you don't need any superpower to get into people's heads, or under their skins~!" He hummed happily, "What's your next mission?" He asked curiously.

He opened the file and blinked at the picture of a familiar man – he had seen him a few times at the Miyagi Police Station…

"Oikawa Tooru?"

"My next target. Wish me luck~!" She said, grabbing the file and walking away.

Satori knew she didn't need any – if anything, this Oikawa Tooru was the one who would need all the luck in the world to survive his encounter with their Shi-chan… He glanced at the screen, showing that the DNA both had the superhuman gene… but didn't agree after Shiori's little trick. He sighed, then stood up, getting a bad feeling about how this story, their  _mission_ , would turn out. At the thought of how it had all started, he lost his usual easy-going smile, his eyes narrowing at the air…

"These damn crows…" He muttered under his breath.

Everyone in the building suddenly felt a strange grogginess take over their minds – but as soon as it had appeared, Satori reduced the strength of his powers. He had to work more on controlling his emotions and his powers… or unfortunately~… he'll destroy innocent people's minds again~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a very long chapter, thanks again to my beta reader animeviolonist001 on ff.net and AwkardPotatoChild on AO3!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, don't hesitate to tell me what you thought~!
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	9. The Art Slicer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who bookmarked and kudoed!
> 
> I hope you'll like this one!
> 
> WARNING: Description of blood and organs, fairly violent fights

 

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER IX : The Art Slicer

" _I never settle. What I cannot have, I will destroy."_

―  **Darkseid (Superman: The Animated Series)**

Applause and cheering resonated as the Little Giant handed the child he had just saved back to his mother and Nite Owl was using his strength to consolidate the steel frames a construction site had trouble with because of a superhuman who had tried to show off. Half of the structure had started collapsing over a crowded street when the two superheroes had arrived to save the day – for once, in the middle of the day. No one was injured and everything was getting fixed now.

They were about to leave, greeting the people they had saved, when a crowd composed of journalists and fans blocked them.

"Nite Owl! Thank you for saving us!"

"Nite Owl, Little Giant! Would you answer some questions for us?" A journalist asked excitedly, forcing a microphone under their noses.

"Little Giant, you're so cool!"

"Why did you become heroes? Why are you hiding your identities?" The journalist continued.

"U-um…" Little Giant hesitated, going from one foot to another, cheeks red at the attention.

"We wouldn't be able to be heroes otherwise!" Nite Owl answered proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Ooooh!"

"So cool!"

They were overwhelmed, but oh-so-pleased by the way people were staring at them in absolute awe.

" _Guys, go away before someone snatches your masks off,"_  Kenma said in their mic.

Little Giant looked up at Nite Owl sadly, wanting to bathe in the glory a little longer, but Kenma's words had brought them back to Earth… They were heroes, not stars. They shouldn't show off and they shouldn't enjoy this fame. And more importantly, they had to keep their identities secret to be able to execute their duties as heroes as they wished…

"Are you getting any help? Who designed your costumes? What do you think of–"

"A-ah… We should probably go! Thanks for the support!" Nite Owl exclaimed, grabbing the Little Giant's shoulder to push him off.

"OH no!"

"Nite Owl!"

Everyone let out disappointed sounds just as a girl threw herself into Nite Owl's arms. Out of reflex, he grabbed her and before he had time to do anything, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down. He opened wide eyes as she kissed him on the mouth, Little Giant letting out a huge gasp of shock while everyone squealed and took pictures. Nite Owl pushed her off, keeping his burning face out of reach, but she seemed satisfied enough with just this one sloppy kiss.

"U-uh! T-thanks? But…!"

"Is this your girlfriend, Nite Owl?!"

"Do you know her?!"

"Is romance possible with your duties as a superhero?! What about your secret identity, does she know it?!"

"U-um! ASK HER!" He panicked, pushing the girl into the crowd.

He used a little too much force and she almost fell over. He grabbed Little Giant, throwing him over his shoulder without caring for his squeals of embarrassment as he ran off.

"Nite Owl, I'm faster on my own than if you carry me…" Little Giant said hesitantly.

"U-ugh…!"

" _My, aren't you popular now…"_  Kenma said in a mocking voice.

"SHUT UP!" He exclaimed, cheeks red.

_In another part of the city…_

Akane stopped the police car and Tetsurou closed his phone, putting it into his pocket.

"It's so strange to go to an actual crime scene after so much time spent on the missing people case," she said.

"Yeah, while most of the police station was on this case, we kept sending the small fries to solve these common murders and thefts. But according to Daichi, that one is… big? I have no idea what it means, though."

"Hopefully, we haven't lost the habit of seeing blood." She joked, getting out of the car.

He chuckled, following her example. They put on their white lab coats, grabbed their stuff, then followed the crowd gathered at a safe distance from the dark alleyway where the murder had occurred. They showed their badges, then were allowed within the yellow police tape perimeter. What surprised them were the few police officers who were pale, leaning against a wall and throwing up. They were young, but they should be used to the idea of murder or blood.

Tetsurou and Akane glanced at each other, almost worried just as they arrived where the murder had occurred. The only person who didn't look remotely sick was the medical examiner, Aihara Mao, and even  _she_  seemed put out by the body she was examining… or what was left of it at least…

Akane put a hand against her mouth and closed her eyes, turning to the side while Tetsurou regretted having breakfast this morning. He could feel all colours fading from his face.

Upon noticing them, Iwaizumi and Sawamura turned to them.

"Oh, you're here. We've already collected some samples for your lab, but you might want to take another look," Daichi said.

"Oh… yeah, sure…" Kuroo answered, voice a little tight.

"If you want to throw up, there are a bunch of buckets outside in the street," Iwaizumi said, "And we won't judge. I didn't hold it in either…"

Akane went away, but Kuroo couldn't tell if she was really sick or just needed time to get over the scene.

He swallowed hard, and regretted it because of the bile that went up his throat, especially when he looked back at the poor… the poor person who had died. He had been cut in half, from head to toe. The cut itself was incredibly clean and sharp – maybe a katana had done this? But what made the scene particularly horrible was the amount of blood, insides, and even bones that had flooded onto the floor, in-between the two parts of his body.

He tried to take a deep breath – but it was a bad idea. The smell of dirt, alcohol, and vomit were all covered up by the metallic stench of blood and internal organs… It even left a bad taste in his mouth.

"We know the victim's identity. His wallet and ID were in his pocket… there's money and his credit card, so it's not a theft gone wrong… His name is Inoue Sho and he's a former bus driver." Iwaizumi started.

"Former? Because he can't hold the wheel with two hands now?" Kuroo said, weakly trying a joke.

They sent him unamused looks, and he coughed awkwardly – it hadn't been funny at all.

"Don't you have any respect for the dead?" Came a hissing voice.

They turned around to Akane who glared at him – she seemed fine now. But  _he_  wasn't.

"You're green, and it really isn't your colour. Why don't you take a walk while I start gathering whatever clues I can find here?" She said.

"No, I'm–"

He stopped talking and, an involuntarily glance at the two halves swimming in their own organs later, he had to turn around and quickly walk away.

"Weakling…" Akane muttered under her breath.

Iwaizumi and Daichi glanced at each other, feeling bad for Kuroo who had a crush on such a spitfire.

"You didn't get sick? You're sure you're okay…?" Iwaizumi asked her, a little worried ever since a police officer had thrown up in the middle of the crime scene (it might damage some clues).

"I'm fine. I just needed some air. Kuroo will be back soon. Any idea of what weapon was used?" She asked, voice breaking a little.

"I think a katana… I can't imagine anything as sharp that might cause such a clean cut." The medical examiner answered, hesitating, "But I never saw a katana causing such… a… y'know."

"I don't think I'll watch any samurai movie for a while now," Daichi said, looking up to avoid the sight.

"Don't put any images in my head, please," Iwaizumi answered.

"Iwaizumi-san! Someone is here to see you!"

They turned around towards the pale young assistant who had just walked towards them. He looked away at once, while Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"He says he's– he's a friend and… ugh… I'm sorry…"

And he ran off to throw up into one of the buckets.

"…I'm gonna see who it is," Iwaizumi said, thankful to walk away from the alley for a little while.

"Okay."

"Hey! Can you try finding clean buckets and shovels to collect the organs?" The medical examiner asked.

Iwaizumi glared at her for asking him such a thing, but he went on anyway, requesting one of the police officers who wasn't  _too_  sick. It didn't take long to figure out who had come to see him.

"Iwa-chan!"

"What are you doing here, Oikawa? This is a crime scene." He said, frowning.

"I am aware of this," he answered, pulling at the police tape keeping him out, "I went to the police station, but I was told you were called away for a murder. It's been a while that something so normal has happened, uh?"

When Iwaizumi pouted, Oikawa's eyes lit up and he leaned forward.

"Don't tell me… is it because of a superhuman? A villain?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"We don't know yet. Let's hope it's not…" He answered, "Anyway, you should probably leave. We're very busy. I'll message you when I'll be available."

"Okay! Should we have lunch together?"

Iwaizumi made a grunting noise then turned around, without answering. The idea of  _food_  right now, was impossible. Thankfully, Kuroo came back, still a little pale, but it was a good excuse to go back on the crime scene where they were both needed…

Once the body (and its organs) and all the clues they could find were gathered, everyone left the crime scene and left it to be cleaned up as much as possible. It would remain protected by the yellow tape and a police officer until the case was closed.

_A few hours later at the Miyagi Police Station…_

"I found some footage, but there's nothing we can use. We only see the murderer, but not enough to make a facial identification." Kai explained as they were doing a short meeting to sum up what had been found since the discovery of the body.

He showed the camera recording he had found. They saw the victim running in a panic, going to hide in the dark alley. Another figure, wearing a black trench coat and walking at a leisurely pace was following him. The man tried to turn around from the alley after seeing it was a dead end, but he ended up face-to-face with the murderer. He stepped away, frightened and, too swift to be seen clearly, the murderer jumped into the air and cut him in half.

"What  _what_ …" Kuroo muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Let me rewind it, in slow motion this time," Kai said.

They saw the scene again – but mostly, they saw the blades shining from the murderer's legs.

"He doesn't have any legs…?" Iwaizumi murmured, frowning darkly.

"Or rather, his legs are blades. Probably as sharp as katanas…" Daichi corrected, a thoughtful hand to his chin.

"Well, that sounds fun. I'm glad I'm not the one that has to arrest that guy!" Kuroo said, glancing at the police officers who all pouted, "But hey, could it be that it's a superhuman who… grew… blades?"

"If that's the case," Shimizu continued, "Shouldn't we leave this to the Shiratorizawa Special Force? They've been dealing with a lot of villain sightings recently."

Kuroo stared at her and Daichi intensely, wondering how many of these sightings have been reported by the police. Apparently, without realising it, the police was helping the SSF arrest the superhumans… He couldn't blame them – as far as he knew, everyone here was a normal human and  _he_  didn't want to face a superhuman, no matter how non-dangerous they might seem.

"…No, let's keep this case since we're not a hundred percent certain… The SSF has a lot to deal with already," Daichi answered. It surprised Kuroo enough that he glanced curiously at the head of the police station.

"There's more about the victim," Iwaizumi spoke up, "He stopped being a bus driver after causing an accident. He got a year of prison, got out in ten months. As bonus, he got a divorce in the process…"

"The tests we ran didn't help much," Kuroo said, "It only showed a huge amount of alcohol in his blood, which wasn't a surprise considering he was an alcoholic and was getting out of his usual bar when he was attacked."

"When did this bus accident happen?" Daichi asked, turning towards Iwaizumi who looked down at his notes.

"Almost four years ago."

"So… we can't connect this to the attack. It was too long ago to have anything to do with the murderer."

Kuroo kept his lips tight, unsure that this was enough to rule out the possibility of the bus accident being related to that probably-superhuman-murderer.

"Nothing on the weapon yet?" Shimizu asked.

"Aihara-san is still analysing what's left of the victim… trying to put the organs back into the right places, or something like that… She didn't learn anything about the weapon. She said it was strange because even a sharp katana would leave some traces of metal after such a hit…" Iwaizumi answered, frowning.

"Which adds even more to the theory of a superhuman," Shimizu said, giving Daichi a heavy look.

He looked back at her, unimpressed, then shrugged.

"Let's wait to gather more clues before saying anything to the SSF."

She didn't add anything.

"Keep it up, guys. Hopefully, this is the one and only murder from this freak before he's arrested." He said, returning into his office.

Everyone went their own way, except Kuroo who stared at the closed door of Daichi's office _. "Freaks"_  – he shouldn't be that surprised that superhumans would be frightening and considered as such, even by people as open-minded as Sa'amura… but did it mean that his friends who were trying so hard to help society were nothing but 'freaks' in the eyes of everyone?

He knocked then entered Daichi's office.

"Hey… why do you want us to handle the case instead of the Shiratorizawa guys?" Kuroo asked, curious ever since he had refused Shimizu's option.

Calmly, Daichi looked up at him then answered.

"Well… They  _do_  know how to handle the superhumans… but only because they're content to shoot most of them. And personally, I'm against public execution."

"Glad to see you're still human," Kuroo said with a smirk.

"You can't choose this job and not hold onto humanity as much as possibility." He sighed, standing up and going to look from his window at the people going on with their lives, "It's not just about saving people… but knowing how to remain human yourself. Especially when we have to deal with cases as difficult and gruesome as today's. If  _we_ , the police force, are supposed to protect all humans without distinction, fail to be as human as possible and save the ones who need help… who will protect them?" He said with one of these smiles that made everyone look up to the Superintendent.

Sawamura Daichi wasn't just a guy with large shoulders and a clear head no matter what, he always knew what to say to motivate and encourage his troops. But most importantly, more than anyone else at the Miyagi Police Station, he cherished all lives. If there was a life he could save, he would do it without hesitation. That was  _why_  he was their leader, and no one hesitated to follow his orders.

Kuroo smiled back, hesitantly, then opened and closed his lips. Daichi stared at him, waiting for his question, but he didn't ask it.

"I hope we'll catch this…"

_Freak. Villain._ _**Superhuman** _ _._

"This murderer soon…" He finished, not daring to meet his friend's eyes.

He couldn't afford to think of the superhumans, no matter how bad, as freaks or villains. For the sake of his friends who, despite the protection of the glory of heroes, had to read every day in the newspapers about what crimes the 'freaks' or the 'villains' were committing…

He left Daichi, who wondered, not for the first time since the meteor, what had happened to Kuroo to change him. He was much quieter and more sombre than he used to be… But perhaps they all were in these dark times…

_At the same time, at the Tokyo National Museum…_

Oikawa Tooru instantly recognized Matsushima Masato, the curator of the largest and oldest museum of Japan. He was wearing a suit and upon seeing the detective arrive, he greeted him with a respectful bow.

"Oikawa Tooru-san, I presume?" He asked.

"That's me, indeed," he answered, showing his papers as detective.

The curator read them carefully, then he nodded and guided him inside.

"Thank you for answering our call so quickly. The director and vice-director are very busy and that's why you are meeting me… We are very worried."

"So I've understood from your call. You refused to give me any details over the phone, so before I accept this request, may I know more?" Oikawa asked, following him inside the museum.

He had been there a couple of times, as every Japanese had done, but without caring much – it was mostly the history or art nerds, or the tourists, who enjoyed museum touring. One of his ex-girlfriends was like that, which was why she had dragged him there an unhealthy amount of times…

"Yes, of course, of course… Well, a week ago someone broke into the museum at night. He escaped before he could be caught by the night guard, but we have several video recordings."

"A thief? Why didn't you call the police?"

"We  _did_ , but they say that as long as there was nothing stolen, there's nothing they can do. Police officers… they don't care about such things now! All they care about is counting how many people are disappearing instead of protecting what we still have…"

Oikawa glanced at him, sighing lightly in agreement.

"Well, most police stations are low on staff. Is this why you called me? Because of a thief?"

"Yes because we think he might come back. Last night, one of our night guards noticed a shadow in the gardens. Not only do we have, as you certainly know, a magnificent art and archaeological collection, but soon, we will open a new temporary exhibit about the National Treasures of To-ji Temple."

He looked very intensely at Oikawa who nodded, but he must have looked confused enough that the curator sighed and decided to give him a history lesson.

"Following the relocation of the capital to Kyoto, To-ji Temple was established as a state-sponsored institution meant to ensure divine protection for the country. Around this time, the Japanese priest Kukai travelled to Tang-dynasty China to study the newly-established teachings of Esoteric Buddhism. In 823, Emperor Saga granted Kukai control of To-ji following his return from China. Kukai made this temple the focal point of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism."

He paused as they entered some halls restricted to the public. Oikawa quickly understood it was the rooms destined for the exhibit.

"The objects of Esoteric Buddhism associated with Kukai are also of immense artistic quality, with their rich variety and expressiveness holding an exceptional position among the Buddhist art of Japan. This exhibition will present Kukai's sculpture mandala, a three-dimensional representation of the pantheon of Shingon Buddhism. It will also feature an unprecedented fifteen of the mandala's twenty-one sculptures, including eleven National Treasures and four Important Cultural Properties! Other magnificent sculptures and paintings, as well as works of calligraphy and decorative art representing the pinnacle of artistic expression in Esoteric Buddhism will also be displayed…"

"It all seems extremely important, artistically and historically… You think this thief wants to steal one of these treasures?" Oikawa asked, nodding gravely.

"Yes, we just want to hire you to stay here at night, at least until we're able of hiring more night guards for the beginning of the exhibit," The curator said.

"Well… I don't see why I should refuse, it seems easy enough. Catch a thief, save national treasures." Oikawa said with a smile.

The curator still seemed uneasy – which was why Oikawa had accepted the job. He was hiding something from him, and until he knew why, he'd do that job.

It was agreed that he'd come back that night to start this job. Until then… he did some research. The Tokyo National Museum wasn't the only museum that had suffered the loss of some of their most famous works. For the last two months, which corresponded with the appearance of superhumans, almost half of the museums of Japan, and eighty percent of them in Tokyo, had suffered from thefts. They mostly kept it hidden from the public and in most cases, the police couldn't find many clues about the thief and ended up waiting for the stolen pieces to reappear on the black market, like most times when such works with artistic or historical value disappeared. It was always the same scenario: someone managed to turn off most of the security devices used to protect the piece, he got into the room, sometimes doing some damage, but always clean cuts, stole the piece which usually triggered the alarm. By the time the night guards got there, the thief and the stolen artifact were gone. Most camera recordings were useless because of whatever device the thief was using to render them ineffective. There was only one of the thefts that had been slightly different, involving a murdered night guard who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time… His head had been cut off cleanly, no clues had been found. It was obviously someone discreet and who knew how to defend himself, so he'll have to take weapons with him.

He received a message from Iwaizumi just then.

" _Sorry for missing lunch. Today's case was gruesome. Dinner?"_

Tooru pouted. He had already eaten dinner and was about to head out for a drink at his favourite bar, the 'Karasuno', where most of his intel and contacts were regulars. He used to invite Iwaizumi to drink over there, but ever since Kiku-chan's disappearance… Alcohol hadn't been a good idea for his friend.

" _Sorry, I've got a job tonight and every night for an unknown amount of time."_

It didn't take long for his best friend to answer, which meant he was feeling lonely…

" _Okay."_

Tooru pouted, feeling bad for leaving him alone when he needed company…

But he had a job to do. Making sure he had weapons on him, he left his apartment, trying not to think of his friend all alone upstairs. He went to his favourite bar. It was underground, in a quiet and not-too-shady part of the city, but shady enough that he could get information on most of his jobs and targets.

"Oh, Oikawa! The usual?" Ukai, the bartender, asked when he saw him arrive.

"Yes, but make it light. I've got a job tonight." He answered, sitting at his usual seat at the bar.

"Ooh, sure you should be drinking?" He teased, making him his favourite cocktail.

"You're one to talk," he said with an amused smile.

"You're not wrong, but don't tell anyone or I'll lose customers," he said with a chuckle, making the Fashionable Manhattan Oikawa liked so much.

"As if anyone who knows your cocktails would ever leave."

Ukai was about to answer just as another customer came in, sitting a seat away from Oikawa at the bar.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" The bartender asked, already taking out what he might need.

"A vodka martini, shaken, not stirred, please," she answered with a smile.

"Oh? Like James Bond's favourite drink?" He asked with a wink.

"Just so," she agreed with a chuckle.

It attracted Oikawa's attention – he had grown up loving the James Bond movies and he was  _starstruck_. There was sitting a beautiful, elegant young woman. She seemed delicate but strong, bright but discreet all at once.

Her long brown hair was pulled up in a sophisticated updo, she was wearing a long evening dress in a dark blue that made her emerald eyes stand out. She put a small handbag on the counter, taking out a phone and pouting when she saw no answer.

He would have gladly spoken up to her, but she was one seat too far away for it to be smooth – but thankfully, Ukai started the small talk, to which he eagerly, but discreetly, listened.

"I've never seen you around, and you're far too pretty to be hanging around here, ma'am. You waiting for someone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he gave her the requested drink.

"I was, but… I doubt this person is going to show up now." She answered with a bittersweet expression.

"Ah…"

Ukai, who was, despite being a bartender, far less comfortable with the ladies, didn't know what to answer whereas Oikawa saw this as the perfect opportunity to speak up.

"What kind of fool would let down such a beautiful lady when there is a clear night like this? You would shine brighter than any star." He said with his most seductive smile.

She turned to him, eyes slightly widening at what he hoped was awe to his quite poetic line. He lifted up his drink to salute her, then turned towards Ukai.

"Put the beautiful star's drink on my tab, will you, Ukai?" He continued.

"Sure thing, 'kawa…" He answered, hiding his amused smile by going to serve another customer.

It left the beautiful lady and Oikawa alone, and she didn't take long to speak up.

"What a gentleman… Comforting me with such a charming compliment and offering me a drink…" She murmured, sounding amused.

"It's only right to state the truth, especially when a lady looks down because of a fool." He answered before pointing at the seat next to her, "May the gentleman… join you for tonight? I'm not the man you were expecting to spend the evening with, but… I can make up with my amazing humour." He said, grinning.

She stared at him, then tilted her head.

"Who said I was spending the evening with a man?" She asked.

"Oh…" He said, flushing in embarrassment, "I didn't mean to assume…"

She laughed and his heart missed a beat. Her voice sounded like the song of an angel, but her laugh–  _oh, her laugh_  was resonating with the music created by the crystals of heaven, trembling in pure joy to hear her laugh. Wow, he hadn't had such an intense reaction to a woman in a long time…

He had only felt this way with  _one_  person in his entire life…

"Sorry, I shouldn't be teasing you…! I just couldn't help myself. But you're welcome to join me, if that hasn't put you off." She continued, pulling her handbag to her – the silent sign to let him come closer.

"Oh… so…"

"I  _was_  meeting a man," she said with a nod, her eyes sparkling in amusement, "But I believe he… had other plans… or maybe he just forgot."

"I doubt anyone could ever forget the sight of you…" He answered in a hushed voice, sitting closer.

He smiled, not feeling like he was forcing it or putting on a mask. She stared at him, looking a little stunned, as if she was realizing it too and couldn't help but let her own façade drop for a moment.

"I apologize, I haven't introduced myself yet," he said, showing her his hand, "I'm Oikawa Tooru. And it's nice to make your acquaintance…"

His voice trailed off and she seemed to hesitate for the slightest moment. It made him blink, but she quickly took his hand, shaking it lightly.

"I'm Minami Hanae," she said with the same enchanting smile.

"Strange, you seem to me more like a piece of poetry than a flower…" He hummed to himself.

She lost her smile, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

He hesitated, realizing he had said something wrong.

"Sorry, I just meant…"

She quickly composed herself, shaking slightly her head to cut him off.

"No, it's fine, I just… I wasn't sure I had heard right. Thank you."

He smiled, and they made some very small talk for a few minutes. Then, noticing that his drink was empty, Hanae was about to call for Ukai.

"Let me offer you another drink," she said, lifting up her hand to attract the bartender's attention.

"Ah, thank you, but… I have to go to work very soon. Maybe another time though?" He proposed, looking almost shy and hopeful – it always made women swoon.

"I… I would love to…" She answered before she could think of what she was saying.

"Have a good night, Ukai-san," Oikawa told his friend.

"Be careful with whatever you're have to do tonight." He answered.

"Like always~! Ah! And before I forget…"

He walked a few steps away from Hanae and lowered his voice so no one else but Ukai would hear.

"Can you ask some people if they've seen some of these things on the black market or heard about anyone working on museums?" He asked in a low voice, giving him an envelope inside of which there were pictures of all the stolen artifacts.

"Yeah, sure…"

Like always, Oikawa asked him to get intel for him through some of his other patrons who were also regulars on the black market or who had big names or lots of money. Of course, his identity remained secret.

Hanae pretended not to listen or care, and she didn't hear what he had asked, but from the reflection in the many bottles she was staring at, she saw Ukai put the envelope under the cash register.

Oikawa made sure to say goodbye to her with a wave, to which she answered with a smile, then he left.

A group of men entered, she smiled at them and they all grinned like idiots, almost falling over their own feet – nothing like the sweet and elegant behaviour of Oikawa earlier. They took a table and didn't take their eyes off her for the entire time they were here. She stood up, pretending to go to the toilets and sent one of them a pointed look. He immediately laughed like an idiot and by the time she was back at the bar, the men were starting to raise their voices, arguing over who she had looked at.

"Another drink ma'am?" Ukai proposed when he saw her empty glass.

She opened her lips just as the two of the men stood up, heated by the alcohol, and started pushing each other. They were loud and violent enough that it caused a commotion and Ukai shouted.

"OI! Get out of my bar if you wanna fight!"

When they didn't listen, he had leave his place behind the bar and stop them himself. Everyone was looking at the scene, grinning or glaring depending on their moods. Hanae, on the other hand, swiftly reached over the bar and took the envelope, silent and smooth as a leaf in the wind. She used her coat to hide most of what she was doing and discreetly, she opened it. She looked quickly at all the pictures – artifacts, art pieces… It took only a few seconds for her to go over all of them, registering as much information as she could, then after a glance over her shoulder that confirmed that the everyone's attention was still on the fight, she closed the envelope and hid it again.

It all happened in less than ten seconds.

By the time Ukai had separated the bunch of idiots and had gone back to the bar, the pretty lady was gone, but she had left him a generous tip. Perhaps, despite what he had initially thought, Oikawa hadn't been the one to attract her attention, like the handsome bastard always did… That put Ukai in an excellent mood for the rest of the night and he never noticed that the envelope had been touched.

Tooru went to the Tokyo National Museum and after getting a long tour by the night guards, he decided to watch the camera recordings with the ones staying in the camera room. It was unlikely anything would happen that night, even though they were just a few days from the exhibit's opening day…

_A few hours later…_

Tooru startled, woken up from his lovely dream with the beautiful Minami Hanae, by the night guard's loud snores. He glared at the man then rubbed his tired eyes, feeling numb and sleepy from falling asleep on such an uncomfortable chair. He stretched and cracked his neck, standing up to make himself some coffee. The smell woke up the man, but he didn't seem to remember that Oikawa was here until he handed him a cup of coffee.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked sleepily, gladly taking the coffee.

"Nothing, don't worry." He answered, even though he had fallen asleep too.

"That'd be a bummer if we had both fallen asleep and something got stolen in the process," he answered with a silly smile.

Oikawa only hummed as an answer, sipping his coffee. His eye suddenly caught something on one of the side screens. He glanced at it, thinking it was a night guard making the rounds, but he didn't know enough of the museum and the cameras' locations to figure out if it was safe or not.

"…Are any of your colleagues walking around here?" He asked, pointing at the camera.

The night guard turned his head, then blinked.

"Nah, it's mostly empty. It's the back entry for the scholars and workers. That camera is completely useless."

"Where does that door lead?" He asked, showing the one he could see on the camera.

"Just the storage rooms for the artifacts that are part of the inventory, but aren't on display in the museum," he answered with a shrug.

Oikawa kept sipping his coffee, staring at all the screens. Six night guards were doing tours all around the museum, and four were posted on the outside grounds and gardens with dogs. He counted all six of them on the screen, walking through the endless, quiet halls.

"…I'm gonna go walk around that area," he said, pointing at the camera where he believed he had seen the silhouette, "I'm allowed to walk around, right?"

"Yeah, we were all warned about you, so they won't shoot you on sight," he answered.

"That's a comforting thought."

He finished his coffee then, now fully awake. He started exploring the museum, following the map. He jumped a few times when his flashlight made weird shadows with some of the armour, or statues, or various artifacts exposed there. When he got lost following the map, he just decided to walk around until he'd see something weird, occasionally taking the time to stare for a long time at some artifacts… which he believed might be of alien origin with the weird shapes, unknown origin, or–

He whipped around when he heard a sound, and his flashlight crossed over the hall. No one. Just artifacts behind displays on his left, and a series of samurai armour on his right.

He let out a sigh. He was jumpy in this museum… It was so eerie at night. It wasn't a place of knowledge like in the daytime, just a place of heart-attacks.

Tooru continued walking calmly, still trying to follow the map. He walked past samurai armours of various styles and eras… but he didn't notice the slight movement of someone turning their head to watch him walk away, hidden in the darkness behind the armour.

He suddenly stopped, and turned around once again, pointing his flashlight all around. He had a weird feeling… like someone was watching him, or following him…

"…Is there anyone in here?" He asked.

His voice echoed and that was only then that he realised that the acoustics of this place was excellent. If his voice was echoing so much, then… the sounds he heard might not have been his imagination. There  _was_  someone in here with him.

He heard it again and whipped around, pointing his flashlight to where that light hissing sound had come from. He cried out when he saw someone suddenly jump at him. That person jumped very high and tried to kick him upside down, barely missing him. Tooru let out another cry when he felt his chest stinging. He brought up his hand to it and saw his shirt slashed, a line of blood seeping into it.

"What the–"

The attacker, or thief, or whatever, attacked him again, forcing him to step away again and again, at every kick and jump from his opponent. He used his flashlight to try to stop their leg, but it slashed through the device like butter. He let go of what was left of his flashlight, blinded by the darkness for a short moment, but knowing that the thief was still trying to cut off his limbs. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape them forever, he pulled out his gun, not realizing he was slowing down. Their leg slashed his arm and he grunted as he aimed the gun and shot.

For a moment, to avoid the gunshot, the thief stopped attacking him, which gave Tooru the break that he needed. His eyes now adjusted to the mid-darkness, lit up only by the moonlight coming from over their heads through a glass ceiling. He aimed and shot at the thief who fell down to the floor with a scream of pain. Tooru finally saw their legs, shining in the moonlight. Below the knees, they were nothing but sharp blades and he already knew how well they sliced – his chest and arm still stung.

Before he could register it though, the thief jumped up and onto their legs. These blades they managed to balance on were the reason for their stealth. It didn't sound like footsteps at all. Only a light, barely audible slash on the floor. Tooru didn't have time to do anything before the thief jumped at him again, doing a somersault over his head. He barely avoided the blades, watching them pass right before his eyes, but he felt a stinging pain against his cheeks. It forced him to fall backwards, his head turning to the side. He could feel the warm blood running down to this chin. His eyes opened just in time to see two more blades shining like silver – as the thief's arms. Using their arms as weapon, they tried to stab Tooru in the face, but he moved just enough that the sword-arm brushed his ear and destroyed the window display behind him. Glass shattered and fell over his back and legs. The thief was stuck into the wall. Tooru lifted up his gun to shoot them again, but using his other blade, the thief cut the gun into two parts. He tried slashing off Tooru's head, but he leaned down and fell on his behind just as the thief pulled away from the wall they had been stuck in.

Tooru pulled out his other gun and shot them, but using their arm-blade as a shield, the thief made the bullet ricochet somewhere else.

"Come on!" Tooru shouted, exasperated by this guy's ingenuity, and the flexibility and speed his blade limbs were giving him.

"Hey there! Stop now!"

"Down!"

Hearing the voices of the night guards, Oikawa curled up just as they shot at the thief who, like some ninja, dodged the bullets expertly. One hit some samurai armor with a loud bong that fell to pieces right next to Oikawa. He grabbed the body armor and pulled it over himself as he heard more glass displays explode from the bullets.

"You are annoying me…"

He looked up, eyes wide when he realised that the thief… was a  _she_. She jumped over Oikawa, not caring about him anymore and ran full speed towards the two night guards who tried to shoot her.

"RUN!" Oikawa shouted, throwing away the samurai armor.

She had already reached them and with shrieks of pain and panic, within seconds, the guards fell to the floor, slashed apart.

"Now, your turn before more show up…" She continued, turning towards him.

He could only see her cold grey eyes, her entire body was covered in black. She was fading in with the dark and with her speed, he wouldn't have time to do anything before she slashed him apart.

He lifted his gun above his head and shot. The thief blinked when she heard a cracking sound over their heads, looked up, and cried out when a rain of glass pieces fell from the ceiling. She covered her head, hit by thousands of shards of glass, rendered heavy and dangerous by their long fall. Once the pouring was over, she looked up, furious, but Tooru was gone. Her eyes went all over the destroyed hall… but there was no way he'd be hiding behind any armour, or she'd see him…

She cracked her neck, her cheek was scratched and her shoulder had been brushed by his bullet earlier.

"Now… it's personal." She hissed, starting to walk through the glass shards to find him.

Tooru ran as fast as he could and with a murderous blade-mutant who probably wanted to kill him, that was pretty easy. As soon as he found a place that seemed relatively well hidden, he took out the walkie-talkie the night guard had given him earlier.

"I need reinforcements! Call the police, warn them of what she can do!"

" _Y-yeah…! I already did! They… they're dead, aren't they?"_

Tooru's heart squeezed painfully, realizing that this guy had lost two of his friends in a dreadful way…

"I'm sorry… Tell your two other colleagues to get  _out_  of the museum  _right now_. She's in murder-mode. She'll kill anything and anyone she finds."

" _What about you?"_

"I'm gonna have scars because of her. I won't let her go away that easily. I just need to get my bag back. And as long as I'm around, she'll try to end me."

" _You're acting as bait?! You'll die!"_

"Not today, I have aliens to find."

Tooru interpreted the grizzling sound as a very confused silence. He ended the call then rolled his shoulders. His right arm still hurt from her earlier slash, but he wasn't bleeding out. He was hoping that the glass shards had hurt her at least enough to slow her down, but he knew it was probably futile…

He stopped breathing when he heard the now familiar sound of her blades sliding on the floor, like the hissing of a snake. He hid himself into the darkness, wishing he had put on dark cloths instead of his white and beige outfit…

She walked into another hall, not noticing him and when he heard her turning around on the other side, he let out a breath of relief. He glanced over the wall, then, he started running, going back through the glass littered hall, over the dead bodies and remembering the way he had come from. From what he remembered of the map, she was going in the opposite direction and wouldn't find him anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the thief got bored by her hunt and when she found the halls where the future exhibit would be, she smiled. She went there and quickly found what her client had ordered: one of the Kukai's mandala sculptures. Carefully with her blade, she managed to take out a small device from her tool belt. As if her blades were nonexistent, she managed to use her face and elbows to activate it. A red light flickered, then when it became green, she knew that every other electronic device was now off. She put the device back in her tool pocket, then brought her right blade up to the glass display. Cutting like a diamond, sharp as an obsidian blade, and solid as steel, her blade cut through the entire display. Then, she looked up and saw, as was planned, the black-clad colleague she had hired for the mission. He was waiting over a glass dome and after he had taken off part of it (with a regular diamond tipped glass cutter), he let down a harness to lift up the precious artifact. She wrapped it up, not even brushing the object nor the harness and ropes with her blades. Once he had lifted up the artifact, he lowered the harness for her. She got in it and he slowly lifted her up.

She knew that the rest of the team that had been hired and recommended by her client had already safely taken the artifact away, but she was the  _only one_  who could penetrate museum with such ease, discretion, and ruthlessness.

_That meteor truly had been a blessing_ , she thought with a victorious smirk.

A hissing sound whistled and suddenly, the rope raising her to the ceiling was cut and she was falling towards the floor. She gasped, making a spin in the air and landing smoothly on the floor, her blades scratching it. She looked up, expecting to see that guy who wasn't a night guard, but she smirked widely, slowly standing up.

"Nite Owl~!" She whispered in a sweet voice, "I was hoping to meet you, and cut you in pieces."

"No thanks," the hero answered without blinking an eye.

He ran to her quickly and she managed to avoid his fist and lifted up her blades. He avoided them by bending down, but her right leg slashed towards him. He jumped upwards, avoiding it and grabbing her right arm. He pulled her forward while trying to punch her but she used her left arm-blade to stop him. It cut his forearm and he cried out in pain, jumping away.

She didn't give him time to find his balance, somersaulting over his head, letting her leg-blades down like a scythe. He stepped away, avoiding it, but it slashed through his costume and into his chest.

"I thought this costume was reinforced with metallic threads or something!" He exclaimed, ignoring the confused expression on the thief's face.

" _It had worked well against Lev's claws, but I guess her blades are sharper,"_ Kenma answered.

" _Be careful, Bokuto-san. Little Giant is still on his way. He should be here in just two minutes – buy time until you get help,"_  Akaashi added.

"Yeah! Like that's easy!" He exclaimed, realizing that he had no weapons and no defences other than his reflexes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you should probably reconsider your last words! They're lame!" She shouted, jumping at him.

He avoided her hits, careful not to touch her blades, but having to watch out for both her arms and legs with such speed and flexibility was  _tough_.

"Why are you doing this?!" He shouted when, after a few seconds of intense fighting. They both needed a break.

She glared at him, her eyes cold as ice and stormy as a typhoon.

"As if you'd understand! You must have been blessed with the life of your dreams your whole life, which is why you now play superhero!" She shouted, going after him once again.

He realised she was using the same moves as earlier. She must not have been fighting for very long if she didn't have much variation in her fighting stance and attacks. He bent down and grabbed her right arm with his left hand while using his other hand against her stomach to push her up and over his head. He threw her down onto the ground so hard, he heard a cracking sound from the floor tiles. She gasped in pain, trying to stand up, but he put his foot down against her back.

"Don't pretend to know my life, thief! Whatever happened to you, it's no reason to have gone so low! You must pay for your crimes! You've stolen art pieces and killed people!" He exclaimed.

She tried to get away from him, to get up, but her blades, so smooth when it came to walking around and killing, were now useless. They kept sliding on the floor. She couldn't get a good enough angle to stand up, and he was keeping her down with too much weight to twist and cut his legs off.

"Kenma, call the cops, so they can get her." Nite Owl said into his mic, deciding to wait for the cops to arrive, instead of doing anything reckless now that she was down.

" _Got it."_

The thief, breathing hard, leaned her forehead against the floor… Would it end here…?  _Really?_

Suddenly, gunshots resonated. Nite Owl startled, lifting up his arms over his head and jumping away from the trajectory of bullets. He hid behind an art piece and looked up, noticing that the thief's allies were now shooting at him instead of watching.

"I really need back-up here!" He exclaimed.

" _Little Giant is almost here, hold on, Bokuto-san!"_

He heard a slashing sound, and pieces of wood shattered and rained over him. He barely had time to look up before the upper part of the art piece that he was hiding behind was slowly sliding down, falling on top of him. He jumped away from it, realizing that it had barely missed the top of his head – if she had wanted to kill him while he was distracted, she could have so why–

Grinning, she ran at him with a speed that was almost equal to his and once again, they started their dance of death except that  _this time_ , he felt overwhelmed. Her blades were giving her extra distance. He couldn't reach her, and her limbs-turned-weapons were also giving her speed and flexibility that made her only more dangerous.  _But_   _that smirk_ – he realised that she was  _enjoying_  this… Torturing him by slashing his costume and making him grunt in pain every time she sliced his skin without going too deep, just enough to make it sting and slow him down.

His right bicep was now hurt, so was his left thigh and she had slashed once again across his chest. When the tip of her katana-shaped blade cut his cheek he cried out in pain and bent down. He didn't realise right away that he was losing his balance until she lifted up her leg and he didn't have the time to react. It went right into the lower part of his leg, severing muscles, sinew, and bone like paper. He screamed and fell down on one knee as she looked down at him.

" _Bokuto-san!"_  Akaashi shouted into the mic, but Nite Owl was the only one to hear his panic.

"You're not that great, after all. I'm disappointed." She said, smiling victoriously.

He glared at her and, while she was bathing in her self-proclaimed success, he twisted around, using his other leg to kick her in the thigh. She smothered a cry, stepping backwards. He used his hands to jump back onto his feet again, clenching his jaw when he felt the warm blood seeping from his right leg, now useless. But he was still standing and he would not give up.

Noticing her unbalance, he took the opportunity to punch her stomach with his left hand. She bent over because of it, coughing as he punched her again in the face. She fell to the ground once again, but before Nite Owl could pin her down like earlier, his leg wavered. She took the opportunity to twist on the floor to get up, her blades giving her momentum. The hero stepped away when she slashed across his chest, this time deep enough to make him scream and bend over, putting a hand against his bleeding torso. His leg was heavy, burning, and pain jolted through the entire limb. He lifted up his gaze just as the thief thrusted through him with her blade.

Nite Owl gasped, the metallic taste of blood invading his mouth as he lost all senses in his body. He almost leaned against her. The thief grinned while her blade was buried through the superhero, all the way to her elbow. She slowly twisted the blade and he choked on the blood in his mouth, the sound of flesh and bones being torn apart haunting him for the rest of, possibly, short life.

Kenma and Akaashi's voices resonated in his mic, but he didn't understand their words, white and black dots dancing in front of his eyes.

There was a moment of heavy silence in the museum.

The thief pulled out her blade slowly. The wet sound of a blade sliding out of flesh and blood resonated. Nite Owl fell over, uselessly trying to cover his wound that was bleeding out.

She looked down at him, leaning down to take off his mask and see who the man behind the fallen superhero was, but suddenly something fell at her feet. She looked down and gasped as the grenade exploded, letting out thick smoke. It blinded her and she backed away, trying to see  _who_  had done that to her – gunshots resonated. Two hit her before she jumped behind a counter.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was the guy from earlier, wearing more guns and ammunition than she could handle when her leg and her shoulder were injured by his bullets. She looked up and saw her colleague through the ceiling. He had already let down the rope to lift her up and he was shooting the man who had hidden behind a wall. She jumped towards the rope, twisted and tangled her limbs, then was raised. She looked down furiously, glaring at the man who had hurt her, but the satisfaction of killing Nite Owl would be enough for the night…

Just as she was getting out, Oikawa clicked his tongue – he hadn't been able to shoot her colleague nor her at this distance while trying not to die.

"Nite Owl!" He shouted, running towards the superhero.

Oikawa turned him over, a pool of blood all around him. He trembled slightly when he checked for his heartbeat. He didn't have time to sigh in relief before a swooshing sound went by and the Little Giant was suddenly standing there, face pale and eyes wide in terror.

"Bokuto-san!" He shouted, leaning to him.

"He's alive! He needs to go to a hospital  _right now!"_

"NO! They'll find out his secret identity!" He answered, the sidekick shaking at the sight of his hero and mentor dying.

"What is more important right now?! His life or his secret identity?!" Oikawa hissed.

But Little Giant didn't listen to him. He turned his head slightly to the side, probably listening to some ally's message in a mic integrated into his helmet.

" _Hinata! Bring him to the facility! A doctor we can trust is on his way!"_  Akaashi ordered him,  _"Hurry up!"_

Before Oikawa could add anything, Little Giant grabbed Nite Owl in his arm and vanished in the night, leaving nothing but a trail of dust. Oikawa fell on his behind, breathing hard and stunned by the events of the night, which had  _not_  gone as he had expected…

Little Giant ran as fast as his powers could take him, feeling the burn in his muscles, but not daring to slow down even when his costume and boots started smoking. He could feel Nite Owl's blood seeping into his own clothes.

He arrived at the facility out of breath. Akaashi and Lev immediately took matters into their own hands. The very strong werelion took the injured superhero and followed Akaashi, running, into another room.

Kenma stared at the superhero who was panting, hands on his knees and still shaking – from the effort and the emotions…

"The doctor that Akaashi called is on his way… Kuroo and Tsukishima are also coming, but will take longer…" He said bring him up to speed.

Shouyou took off his mask, throwing it to the side, and stared at the ground helplessly. He clenched his fists, burning tears in his eyes.

"…We can only  _wait?"_

Kenma hesitated, feeling terrible for his friend, and incredibly worried for his other friend… He stood up and approached Shouyou, putting a hand on his shoulder, as comforting as he could be… even if he wasn't good at communication.

"Being a hero isn't just about kicking villains and saving people who will cheer for you… It's also… it's also risking your life, getting hurt, and… hoping for the best."

"But Bokuto-san will make it,  _right?_  He's strong, and he's Nite Owl! So he  _must_  make it! Right…?" Shouyou asked, voice breaking.

He looked up at Kenma, eyes shining with tears. Kenma opened and closed his lips, trying to find something to say… but his eyes burnt and his throat was too tight. He couldn't say anything.

Suddenly, the main door opened and a man wearing a white blouse, followed by two nurses, arrived.

"Where is Akaashi? Where is my patient?!" He asked urgently, having obviously run here.

"Over there," Kenma answered, pointing at the hall where Bokuto had been taken.

The small team ran. They could follow the drops of blood anyway.

"…You beat a new speed record, by the way…" Kenma said when the silence became too heavy.

But Shouyou wasn't pleased like he usually was. Akaashi and Lev, covered in blood, came back, pale and shaky. Kuroo and Tsukishima arrived and they all waited nervously, for what felt like hours and hours…

Finally, the surgeon, Konoha Akinori, came back, looking grave.

"He'll be fine."

Everyone sighed in relief and Kuroo, who had been pacing back and forth in nervous circles, let himself fall to the floor. Lev, who had turned into his lion form out of worry, went to his side and plopped down, putting his heavy head over the man's legs. Kuroo couldn't care less if he got his legs crushed right now.

"Well, as fine as one can be after getting stabbed by a katana – or whatever it was. It thankfully didn't touch any vital organs. Barely missed several though. A few more minutes of bleeding and it would have been too late." Konoha continued, "I haven't worked on any superhumans before but… we must thank his fast regenerative abilities."

He paused, glancing at each and every one of them before continuing.

"I would prefer if me and my team stay until we are certain of his recovery, if you don't mind."

"Of course, our priority is to ensure his safety," Akaashi answered.

"And we need to keep a close eye on his blood. He needed a blood transfusion, but I don't know if normal human blood will have consequences on a superhuman's body."

"I can handle that, to help you out as much as I can," Kuroo answered, still sitting on the floor, "I'll take a day off from work and stay here."

"Aren't you on a big murder case, though?" Tsukishima asked.

"I think I know who murdered that bus driver now…" He murmured, looking down, "Do you think The Moon could share what happened last night, in order to give the police a lead?"

"Sure, but isn't it dangerous to send your colleagues against that Slicer?"

Kuroo seemed conflicted, until Shouyou spoke up:

"Someone will have to arrest the Slicer though… As long as Nite Owl is injured, I'll help out as much as I can, but we'll need a way to take her out long enough for her to be transferred to a safe place. Otherwise, she'll just eventually get the upper hand on anyone who opposes her."

"We'll think of something," Akaashi said, "But you need to rest… We  _all_  do," he added after a glance at everyone's eye bags.

He turned towards Konoha who nodded to his silent request.

"I'll keep a close eye on him, and I'll let you know if anything happens," he said.

"Thank you so much, Konoha-san… For doing all this and… for keeping it a secret."

He nodded darkly before going back to his patient. Lev was practically living in the facility, so he went into his room to sleep in his lion form, and only Kuroo remained behind. Kenma stayed with him a bit longer, both discussing some topics until the pudding-head started yawning and bobbing his head sleepily.

The following day, a new article from The Moon came out, with video footage and pictures from the crime scenes. The Miyagi Police Station had been called by Oikawa and the Tokyo National Museum to investigate what had happened the previous night and Aihara-san confirmed that the two night guards had been killed by the same person as the bus driver. With The Moon's article and the obvious crowd at the museum and the media storm that couldn't be avoided, the "Art Slicer" became the most famous thief and serial-killer of the century in less than twenty-four hours.

"Oikawa!"

The private detective, whose injuries were being treated by a nurse, looked up when Iwaizumi arrived, looking slightly panicked.

"They told me you were the one who had called, that you had been the one facing the Slicer!"

Iwaizumi frowned terribly when he saw the various injuries over his friend's chest, but Oikawa smiled.

"I'm fine, it's just scratches. Nite Owl is the one who really suffered…"

"I know. He was here."

"He was very badly injured. He was bleeding a lot when the Little Giant took him away."

Oikawa put on his shirt, wincing at the pain shooting through his body.

"We looked into it, but there was no one with the injuries you described at any hospital last night. He's either dead or… he has his very own medical facilities…" Iwaizumi said, lightly shaking his head.

The detective opened and closed his lips, gaze lost, staring at the wall… That shrimp hero had called him 'Bokuto-san' the previous night… Was it his secret identity? Who else was helping him with his hero business?

"I'm glad you're safe…" Iwaizumi sighed, letting out a heavy breath.

"Uh? Really? I… would have expected you to yell at me for going after such a powerful superhuman on my own – even though for once I didn't look for trouble intentionally …" He answered, surprised by his friend's concern.

"I  _will_  yell at you for doing such a stupid thing!" He mumbled, glaring at him, "But right now, I'm too relieved that I won't have to lose you too…"

"Oh…"

Tooru realised that for Iwa-chan, learning that his best friend, almost brother, had been face-to-face with death itself must have triggered some bad memories. He had lost his fiancée only two months ago and the loss was still too hard for him to deal with…

"Iwaizumi-san! Sawamura-san is calling you!" a police officer shouted.

"I'm coming!" he answered before turning towards Oikawa. "I know that you'll want to look for that Slicer, or even Nite Owl, but stay out of trouble, okay? You don't have the jurisdiction to deal with this case, and you don't have the weapons to go up against a superhuman."

Iwaizumi was about to leave when Oikawa spoke up:

"And  _you_  do perhaps?"

It made him stop and turn back towards his friend.

"You're in as much danger as I am, if you end up going against the Art Slicer. The only person who could stood a chance against her is a superhuman, and the  _best_  one almost died last night…"

"…Just stay out of trouble, Oikawa," he mumbled, leaving him to rest.

He sighed deeply, staring at his best friend leave. Oikawa knew that one of his sources, Tsukishima, or The Moon to the public, was working with Nite Owl – there was no other way so many of his stories were covered up by a single person… Which meant he knew the identity of that 'Bokuto-san'.

Outside of the museum, waiting in a car, Shiori watched as Oikawa finally exited, looking exhausted and passing a hand over his bloodied shirt. She already knew what had happened the previous night – the Miyagi Police Station had shared the information with the Shiratorizawa Special Force because it was confirmed they had dealt with a superhuman, and upon hearing that her target had almost been killed, Wakatoshi had asked her to trail him.

Just then, she received a message on her tablet, the information about the art pieces she had seen in the envelope the previous night at Ukai's bar. The little she had seen and registered proved that last night's theft from the Art Slicer wasn't her first attempt.

Oikawa started his car and she followed him from a safe distance.

For the next two days, nothing happened except Bokuto waking up. He was hurting and sleeping most of the day, but he was healing steadily and there had been no problem with the blood transfusion. The scratches from the Slicer's were mostly healed thanks to his fast regenerative abilities, but the hole in his chest and leg were still very tender. They were healing quickly though.

Every night, the Little Giant did his usual patrols around town, but there were no more sightings of the Art Slicer.

Then, in the morning, another body was found slashed apart. The Miyagi Police Station went there again and quickly identified the man: a surgeon. It didn't take long to figure out why the Slicer had done such a thing.

"We found a link to the victims," Iwaizumi announced as the ones working on the Slicer case were gathered in a room at the Police Station.

He pinned the picture of the last victim next to the bus driver.

"The surgeon saved the life of the only victim in a bus accident from four years ago. The other two victims died of their injuries. The survivor is Moto Chou. She was a ballet dancer until four years ago, she lost both her arms and legs… She mysteriously disappeared from the rehabilitation centre two weeks after the meteor hit the ground."

"I guess she grew these katana as limbs, which gave her a new way of life…" Shimizu said thoughtfully.

"Getting a second chance like that and deciding to turn towards a life of crime...That's terrible," Kuroo said, frowning.

"I suppose she didn't see it as a second chance for a new life, but a chance for revenge against life…" Daichi murmured darkly, "I suppose we have no recent whereabouts?"

"Nothing at all," Iwaizumi answered, "Oikawa is investigating on the black market and with various contacts he's got to see if he can track her through her art theft activities."

It wouldn't be the first time Oikawa helped the police officers with a tough case. And he was personally involved in this one, considering what had happened at the Tokyo National Museum.

But the lead with the black market ended up being useless, so they focused on the only person who might be the next victim: Komatsuzaki-san, the bus driver's lawyer who had managed to get him a shorter sentence than what was initially planned by blaming the victims' drunkenness that night. An entire team made of police officers and soldiers from the Shiratorizawa Special Force started protecting him day and night, but there was no more sign from the Art Slicer.

_At the Ueno Zoo, a few days later…_

"Bokuto! You're finally back!" Komi exclaimed when his friend showed up in the morning.

"Hey! How are you doing?"

"Are you feeling better?" Shirofuku asked.

He startled, staring at her with wide eyes because of what she might know. His reaction was strange enough that his colleagues all glanced at each other.

"You… had the flu, right? Are you feeling better?"

"R-right! Sorry! Still… um, a little dizzy at times… I've got a doctor's note!" He exclaimed, pulling out the good cover-up from Konoha-san.

"You've always been as healthy as a horse, but ever since this summer, you've been getting sicker more often. Are you okay?" Komi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not one of the animals you have to look after, Komiyan," he answered sarcastically.

"You're not?" He answered, feigning surprise.

Bokuto threw a water bottle at his head, but he ducked down to avoid it, laughing.

"Stop playing around, will you? We've got a zoo to run! Chop chop, everyone! Get to work!" Shirofuku exclaimed, clapping her hands.

As soon as she was gone, Bokuto turned towards Komi and the rest of his friends.

"Well, someone's cranky today. Did something happen?"

"Not really, but the number of visitors has gone down ever since the accident with the gibbons and that damn werelion thing… She's trying to get the zoo back and running, but it's hard with the current situation…" Komi explained with a shrug.

The hero kept his lips tight, worried about the zoo, the animals, and everyone he protected in this city. So many people, so many lives that had changed, and not for the best, since that meteor…

He helped his colleagues, working a lot slower than usual. He couldn't help but massage his chest where the injury left by the Art Slicer was still aching at times. He'll have a scar for the rest of his life, said the doctor, but… he couldn't really regret anything when he saw the fear plaguing everyone's minds just because  _she was still out there_. He knew from Kuroo that the next presumed victim had been placed under protection…

After his day at the Ueno Zoo, and despite the exhaustion he still felt from his injuries, he went to the Nest to meet Akaashi, Lev, and Kenma who had a "surprise" for him.

"Bokuto-san!" Lev exclaimed when he saw his hero come in, jumping up with his long legs.

"Hey! So? What's going on?" He asked as he entered.

"Your Nite Bike is finished," Akaashi said, throwing him the keys for the motorbike he could now use when he wasn't using the Nite Car.

"WAH! Really?! So cool! Hinata isn't allowed to ride it though, right?"

"No, he doesn't have a driving licence," Akaashi answered.

"Who cares anyway? It's not like a cop is going to pull you and check your id and license," Kenma muttered.

"No, but Bokuto-san  _knows_  how to drive a motorbike, Hinata doesn't. He can drive the Nite Car though."

"Can I drive it too?" Lev asked excitedly.

"Learn how to stop attacking the tv when it gets turned on suddenly, or how to use chopsticks correctly,  _then_  we'll consider teaching you how to drive.  _Maybe_ ," Kenma said, rolling his eyes.

Seeing his defeated look, Bokuto hid his chuckle before walking towards his usual changing room to get his costume and try out the Nite Bike. Maybe he'll let Lev sit behind him to cheer him up.

"Hold on, Bokuto-san," Akaashi called with a pleased smile, "We have changed the location of your costume… and added a few toys."

Bokuto blinked and was about to follow them to wherever it was, but once again, excited Lev watched him with sparkly eyes as they remained standing where they were.

"Come here," Akaashi said, pointing at the wall where the main screen was.

"Ooooh! Is it a secret door?! Please tell me this is a secret door!" Bokuto exclaimed, hopping excitedly to where his friend was.

Without answering, Akaashi pointed at a new, small screen just under the big screen.

"Only authorized people have access to this. Put your hand on it."

The hero didn't wait, placing his hand against the small screen that recognized his prints. He heard a heavy sound behind him and turned around. Right in front of Kenma's desk, a trapdoor slid open smoothly and he could see white stairs leading down.

"This is the coolest thing ever!" Bokuto exclaimed, running to it.

"Wait, Bokuto-san–" Akaashi started, lifting up a hand to stop him.

He was already rushing downstairs, followed by an eagerly enthusiastic Lev who had turned into a lion again.

"I'm not going to buy him clothes  _again_. He's gonna stay butt-naked until he learns how to control his transformations," Kenma mumbled, eyes narrowed at the torn clothes on the floor.

Bokuto ran downstairs to the secret room hidden under the main one and landed in a vast, rounded room. He gasped, stars in his eyes as he stared at his and Little Giant's costumes, all new and smooth… He turned around in awe at the walls covered in gadgets, more boots and helmets and various objects that he had no idea what they could possibly be.

"Waaaah! They didn't let me in until today! It's so cool, Bokuto-san!" Lev exclaimed, now back into a (butt-naked) human.

"It's…"

He was speechless just as Kenma and Akaashi arrived.

"We've been working on it for a few weeks now, with Kuroo's help and Tsukishima's suggestions, of course," Akaashi said with a proud smile.

"That's…"

Bokuto turned around, grinning widely.

"After your last fight and… what happened, we decided that it was becoming more urgent to give you the proper tools to defend yourself," Akaashi said, frowning at the memory of his fears when he saw Bokuto come in with a literal hole in his chest.

"Your costume has been upgraded with super tech," Kenma continued, "Now, not only will it give us information on all your vitals like before, but I'll receive data on your speed and strength. It can be warmed up or cooled down depending on your needs and various little things we'll add over time. The threads are metal, but to add a new layer of protection, your pectorals, forearms, abs, and sides are covered with a flexible and protective fabric that can even receive full-speed bullets. Probably."

"Probably, uh?"

"We asked Lev to try to destroy the costumes and they mostly came out unscratched."

Lev pushed out his chest proudly, hands on his hips, satisfied that he had managed to scratch even a  _little_.

"That's amazing!" Bokuto exclaimed.

"Your boots, try them on." Kenma said, handing them to him.

Bokuto sat down on the bench in the middle of the room and put them on, jumping a little to get a feel for them.

"They won't slide anymore and they are adapted to most terrain. And, there's a little surprise for your opponents. Try tapping your foot."

Bokuto slammed his foot down, but nothing happened.

"Not like that, tap lightly on the floor the  _tip_  of your boot." Akaashi corrected.

He tried once again, following the instruction. At once, a small triangular blade came out and he stared at it in awe.

"It's not big enough to cause a huge injury, but it's coated in a product that Kuroo chose, so it could knock out someone within minutes, without the risk of death. Probably."

" _Probably?"_  Lev repeated, frowning, "You tested it on  _me!"_

"To see if it worked on superhumans and it does. We didn't want to risk overdosing someone, so don't worry, Lev. And you're fine, aren't you?" Kenma explained, waving his hand nonchalantly.

" _Kenma-saaaaan…!"_

"How do I get it back into the boot?" Bokuto asked.

"Just push it gently," Akaashi said.

He pressed the tip of his boot against the floor, sending the tiny blade back inside.

"Here are various gadgets that we developed after watching spy movies for inspiration," the young man continued, pointing at everything, "None of it can serious harm – only disorient or knock out at best. And finally…"

He walked towards the costume and Bokuto followed him, his heart missing a beat when he finally noticed the large shield waiting for him.

"I believe you said you wanted to be like Captain America, right? But a hero  _wouldn't_  be Captain America without his shield… This one is  _yours_." Akaashi said, presenting it to him.

Bokuto passed his hands over the shield, shaped like ones that one would see on a coat of arms with two points at the top. It was painted in gold, dark blue, and black, like his costume colour scheme. It looked like two wings folded over protectively.

"It's made with a metallic alloy that makes it strong and shock-absorbent, but don't get cocky. It's not like the vibranium that Captain America uses," Kenma commented.

The hero, barely listening, slid his arm through the leather handle hidden on the inside of the shield, then lifted it up. The golden paint caught the light and even though he wasn't in costume and looked stupid with only his boots over his civilian clothes…  _Power_  emanated from Nite Owl and his companions held their breath.

_Later that night…_

"Yo! Iwaizumi! Do you want to join us?" Shirabu asked as he was dealing the cards.

"Shirabu-san! Be more respectful, he's a  _senpai!"_  Goshiki exclaimed, gathering his cards.

Iwaizumi had just entered the room in which the group of police officers and soldiers were gathered to watch over the lawyer. The poor man, nervous and jumpy ever since he had been put under protection was in a corner, working on a case, but it was obvious he wasn't feeling like it…

There were only four people there: one police officer who wouldn't stop touching his gun out of nervousness, glancing anxiously at the window, and the three soldiers who were calmly playing cards on a table in a corner.

"Where are the others?" Iwaizumi asked, glancing around.

"One was feeling sick, so he went home, food poisoning from lunch. The two others went to pick up everyone's dinner," Kawanishi explained calmly, starting to put down a card.

"I see… Nothing happened I presume?"

"Nothing at all," Goshiki answered with a shrug, "I doubt the Slicer actually has any interest in killing Komatsuzaki-san after all."

"I would love that…" The lawyer intervened shyly.

"Let's not be in any hurry. As long as the Slicer is out there, we can't assume anything." Iwaizumi said, sitting next to them to watch their card game.

"That is true… There was a sighting earlier, on the other side of town though. Ushijima-san, Tendou, and Semi went there," Shirabu added.

"So the only one you respect and use an honorific with is that Ushiwaka guy?" Iwaizumi concluded with a dry smile.

Shirabu sent him a hard glance before shrugging.

"He's our Major General, he gives us orders and we obey."

"Sounds a lot like you don't get to have a mind of your own…"

"Don't insult us! We are perfectly capable of handling any situation with our own minds!" He exclaimed, frowning, "We  _all_  respect Ushijima-san, but you wouldn't understand…"

"I know a hell of a lot about respect, even though the person I respect most doesn't realise how much, and doesn't even act like he  _should_  have earned anything from me… But he's the only person I can rely on." He answered calmly.

"Then, you understand why we all respect Ushijima-san," Kawanishi intervened, "He is a charismatic leader who always makes the right decision. He's a good man and wants the best for his soldiers and the people he wants to protect."

Iwaizumi stared at him, almost wishing he knew a flaw about that guy, but except for being awkward with people he didn't know, there was nothing to deny in the soldier's words. Shirabu hummed in agreement and Goshiki nodded vigorously before speaking up.

"Who is this man you rely on then, Iwaizumi-san?"

"My best friend, Oikawa." He answered.

"Oh, Oikawa? Like–"

Goshiki grunted when he received Shirabu's sudden kick to his leg. He glared at his senpai, lips tight. He wouldn't reveal that Oikawa was Shiori's target! He wasn't  _that_  stupid!

"You know him?" Iwaizumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We had lunch with him the other day when he came to the police station," Kawanishi continued, calm as ever, "He sounds like a pretty cheerful guy… but if someone like you trusts and respects him, he must be something."

"He hangs around the police station a lot, and he often helps us with his detective skills."

"It was definitely helpful for this case," Shirabu said while Goshiki remained stubbornly silent.

"Oi, kiddo, you're gonna lose with that game of yours," Iwaizumi told Goshiki, pointing at his cards, "Don't keep these ones, and leave that one on the pile."

"E-eh?  _Eh?_  Oh…!"

Goshiki followed his advice and smirked proudly when his two friends glared at him for putting down the worst possible card.

"I always lose at card games!" Goshiki exclaimed with a grin.

"Why do you look so proud of that?" Iwaizumi asked, brows furrowed.

"Because no one has beaten his record yet," Shirabu answered, rolling his eyes.

"And no one has beaten Tendou-san's record either," Kawanishi added.

"No one can beat Tendou at card games!" The captain exclaimed.

"Eeeh, it'd be interesting to challenge him then," Iwaizumi murmured with a side smile.

The soldiers from the Shiratorizawa Special Force glanced at each other, exchanging knowing smiles. Just then, a knock at the door had them look over their shoulders.

"It must be the guys coming back with the food! I'm famished!" Kawanishi exclaimed.

The police officer stood up, and after checking the peephole and recognizing his colleagues, he opened the door with a smile. His head flew and Komatsuzaki shrieked, suddenly standing up and making his chair fall. Iwaizumi, Shirabu, Kawanishi, and Goshiki all stood up at once, taking out their guns and shooting.

None of their bullets could hurt the Art Slicer, Moto Chou, who managed to use her blades as shields for her body. She jumped towards Iwaizumi who stepped away, his gun falling to pieces, cut in half. Her blade dove through his shoulder and he let out a scream, falling to his knees. Just as he was about to get beheaded, Goshiki shot her. At the last moment she moved her head then, she thrusted her left leg-blade towards him, slicing deeply through his chest and almost chopping off his left arm. He collapsed on the floor while Shirabu talked hurriedly into his earpiece. Kawanishi distracted her with his bullets, but she kept avoiding or misdirecting them. She jumped over the table with a shriek, annoyed by him.

" _Yamagata!_  Yamagata! We need reinforcements!" Shirabu shrieked for anyone who would listen, "We're–"

He never finished his sentence. Kawanishi was now on the floor, blood seeping out of him too quickly. Shirabu received Moto Chou's arm-blade right into his throat. He gasped and choked on his own blood, falling on the floor.

Moto Chou looked behind her, but the lawyer had run away during the conflict. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I have an appointment with my new lawyer. You can just bleed out. You won't get the honour of being chopped by me, too bad." She muttered, ignoring the weak glare sent by Shirabu who was drowning in his blood.

Just as the Slicer was about to get out of the apartment to follow the lawyer, she heard a sharp sound. The window behind her exploded and she felt a sharp pain in-between her shoulder blades. She shrieked and hid behind the wall. On the other side of the street, Yamagata clicked his tongue in annoyance – he had heard Shirabu's call too late, he had shot too fast, and  _his friends_ –

He shook his head, his eyes shining with unshed tears just as he heard Ushijima in his ear.

" _Yamagata! We heard the distress signal from Shirabu! Report!"_

"Everyone is down, we need Reon  _right now!_  If it's not already too late! Komatsuzaki ran off and the Slicer is after him!"

There was a short moment of silence before the Major General answered.

" _Understood. Stay up and keep a sharp eye on any sightings of the Slicer. At the first sign of her, shoot her. We're on our way."_

"Yes, sir!"

He breathed hard and got ready to shoot again if he saw anything. His sharp eyes caught sight of something shiny at the other side of the street and his lips fell open…

_Nite Owl…_

And he wasn't alone. An orange arrow ran past him and right into the building where Komatsuzaki  _and_  the Slicer were.

Inside the building, Little Giant ran up and through every floor and apartment. People screamed when they suddenly had an orange wind rush past them. He stopped on the fourth floor when he found two bodies in the hall. Two police officers, the food they had been carrying was still warm… He went inside the apartment and gasped when he saw the bloodshed.

"Little Giant!"

He turned around just as Nite Owl arrived after running up the stairs. He stopped at the scene and reacted quickly:

"Find her! Find the lawyer! I'll take care of them!" He exclaimed.

"Got it!"

And whoosh went the hero gifted with superspeed.

Nite Owl knelt right next to Shirabu who seemed to be in the most critical state right now. From his tool belt, he took out compression bandages. He wrapped it around his neck, the man weakly opening and closing his mouth from which blood was rolling down his chin.

"Hey! Stay awake, okay?" Nite Owl told him, "Your men  _need_  you and help is on the way!"

Shirabu's eyes sharpened enough that Nite Owl wrapped up the others' injuries – everyone was alive, but bleeding out. Hopefully his compression bandages would be enough until help arrived.

" _I called the hospital. They're on their way, but it'll take a few minutes."_ Kenma told him.

"I'm not sure they  _have_  a few minutes left…!"

The sound of breaking windows above, on the fifth and final floor, startled him. Nite Owl ran to the broken window and saw the lawyer laying on the road, twitching for a short moment before he went still once and for all.

Furious by all this blood and death, Nite Owl looked up at the fifth floor, his golden eyes sharp and dangerous.

"Hold on for a few minutes! And don't move!" He shouted to the injured men as he left them bathing in their blood.

Meanwhile, Little Giant was keeping his teeth clenched. He hadn't been able to distract the Slicer effectively enough and, in fear of her, the lawyer had backed up too far. She had stabbed him through the chest and threw him out the window at the same time.

"I guess you're here to avenge your mentor, uh?" The Slicer said with a smirk, "You're brave, little boy, but you'll never be able to beat  _me_."

"I'm not a little boy! I'm  _the_  Little  _Giant_ , and I will  _defeat_  you!" He exclaimed, eyes bright in determination.

She laughed, the sound screeching at his ears and into his heart – she had just killed so many people and still  _laughed_ … Even though he knew how bloodthirsty she was, he just now realized how much she was  _enjoying_  all of this killing.

"For your courage, I'll let you have the honour of seeing my face before you die." She continued, carefully and smoothly taking off the head band that was covering most of her face.

Little Giant frowned when he saw the unscathed, beautiful face. Her skin was pale and smooth, her lips red as blood when she smiled, but her eyes… her eyes were cold as ice.

"You'd be pretty if you weren't so monstrous inside…" He murmured.

Her smile disappeared and her gaze became vicious.

"I am a monster all right, but because of what  _they_  did to me! I was supposed to be a brilliant star, the new ballet dancer that everyone would admire and love! They destroyed my dreams by running me over with that bus, letting me live with no limbs or hope!  _I hate them!_  I spent the last four years despising everything about them, and my life, and the whole world!"

Her voice was loud and shrieking, lost in her agonizing pain.

"But  _then…!_  Then I was blessed! With these blades, my chance for revenge!"

She looked down at the blades that were shining in the moonlight. She looked back up at the hero, her expression serene.

"And they will be your death, Little Giant." She said calmly.

She jumped at him swiftly, but she hit nothing but thin air. He almost laughed at the face she made, standing behind her.

"Not if you can't catch me!" He exclaimed in a chirpy voice.

"RAAAAH!" She hissed, twisting around and trying once again to hit him.

He kept running around, against the walls, the ceiling, away from her blades and her reach, but she was like a sharp tornado and he couldn't get close enough to stop her without risking getting chopped. He ran around the room to disturb her senses, then landed against the wall, his hand against his thigh where his new favourite gadget was waiting. During the one second where he remained against the wall, defying gravity and adding momentum, he grabbed the long tube and shifted it around. She turned around just as he jumped towards her, pressing down on the top button. A net came out of it and fell on top of the Slicer who shrieked, almost losing her balance. It was far from being as big as the one they had used to capture Lev, but it was enough to reduce her movement.

She shouted, stumbling in circles and tearing the net apart. Little Giant didn't waste any time and ran towards her while she was distracted, and with the momentum from his speed, he kicked her in the stomach. She stumbled backwards with a scream and landed against the broken window, sliding onto the ground.

On the other side of the building, Yamagata took aim. Little Giant had given him the perfect opportunity to shoot her, she was  _right there_ … His sights were right on her head, but just before he could shoot her, she jumped up and out of the window, into the street.

Little Giant ran to the window and watched her land on the ground, falling on her knees, and wavering from her injuries and the tall fall. She tried standing up, but her balance was shaky and her blades had not been able to soften the landing.

"Kenma, tell Nite Owl that there's a change of plan! She's jumped into the streets!"

" _Keep her within the perimeter,"_  the computer expert answered, transferring the message to Nite Owl.

"Yoosh!"

Little Giant ran downstairs just as the Slicer was able to run, wanting to get away from the sniper as fast as possible.

Yamagata clicked his tongue when Little Giant showed up, keeping the target from moving, but constantly going back and forth – it was impossible to shoot her without risking the superhero.

The Slicer tried several times to slash at him, but he kept avoiding her blades with his speed. She was panicking, turning around in wide circles and not thinking clearly. Her back burned where she had been shot and her jump from the fifth floor made her legs ache.

Seeing her change in behaviour, as if in slow motion, Little Giant smirked to get to the next part of the plan. Still holding the metallic tube that had more than just a net, he ran straight at her then slid under her razor-arms. The blades brushed the side of his helmet just as he slid away from her, but at the right level. He aimed and pressed the other button, and a long whip shot, tangling into one of the leg-blade. She looked down just as he stood up and ran all around her, tying her legs together.

"What the–"

He pressed the last button of the gadget with a lightning bolt on it. Electricity ran through the whip and towards the woman, making her shriek and fall to the ground, unbalanced and shaken. It wasn't powerful enough though because as soon as the electricity wasn't shocking her anymore, she pulled her legs apart, tearing the whip to pieces.

She stood up swiftly, glaring with murderous intent at the orange-clad hero.

"Do you really think that your little tricks and devices will be enough to stop  _me?!"_  She shouted furiously.

"Not at all, but I'm not the one who will stop you," he answered with a calm smile.

She frowned, confused just as he looked up. She followed his gaze and gasped.

"It's not– it's not possible! He should be dead!"

Nite Owl, whom she had been certain she had stabbed and left to bleed out at the museum, was still alive. He was kneeling over the side of the building, crouching down like an owl on the edge of a tree branch. The moon was full and bright behind him and the only thing that could be seen from his dark outfit was the golden glimmer of the details of his hero costume… and his eyes.  _His eyes_ , bright as melting gold, and determined as fire, were staring right at her. A predator who had locked his gaze on his prey.

The Slicer stepped away, paling just as he jumped down. She gasped as he spun in the air and landed on the ground with the hard sound of the tar cracking beneath his landing. He had a wide shield that looked like two wings about to open and take flight as he stood up calmly.

"You're a good killer, Art Slicer, but not good enough to escape two superheroes and a sniper with such injuries. Give up now, and you'll be treated mercifully," he said in a hard voice.

Little Giant turned towards where he assumed the sniper was and made him a sign to wait. Yamagata was sweating and he clenched his jaw, but decided to wait.

Moto Chou let her shoulders fall down, lowering her face in shame.

"You're… you're right… I can't win…" She admitted in a broken voice.

Nite Owl was slightly surprised, but glad she had given up without a fight. He took his own tube to use the whip to tie her up in a way where she wouldn't break free, but just as he was within her reach, she lashed out. He jumped away from her blades and lifted up his shield. The weapon-arms hissed against the metal just as, protected by his shield, he punched her in the stomach.

She bent over, gasping for air and trying to find her balance. Nite Owl punched her in the face and she almost fell over before lifting up her right leg. He jumped away to not get cut in half just as Little Giant ran and jumped high above her. He kicked her head and once again, she lost her balance. She spun around to attack the speedster, but he was already out of her reach. Nite Owl ran at her and punched her in the face once again. She screamed and he used his shield to attack. The repetitive hits and the injury between her shoulder-blades made her fall to her knees. Black, blue, and golden lights danced in front of her eyes.

Moto Chou, the Art Slicer, looked up just as Nite Owl's fist knocked her out for good. She collapsed to the ground and without wasting time, he tightened the whip around her upper arms, keeping them against her body. She wouldn't be able to reach the whip with her blades this way. She was moaning, already coming back to consciousness despite all the super-strength punches she had received when a series of military trucks arrived. Soldiers instantly jumped down to surround the heroes and the villain. A group of medics ran upstairs to help their colleagues.

Ushijima jumped down from the truck and stopped when he saw Nite Owl and the Little Giant standing over the villain they had just stopped. The last time they had heard about the owl hero, he had been dying or dead.

"Ah lala… here they are again, the shining heroes… They'll get all the glory, that's not fair~…" Tendou muttered with a sluggish smile.

"…Go check on Reon and the medical team. They might need some help from you." He ordered.

"Yeeeees, sir…" He answered, walking lazily towards the building with his hands in his pockets.

The Major General walked towards the villain and the two heroes, accompanied by Semi and some soldiers with their weapons at the ready.

"You stopped the Art Slicer." Ushijima remarked.

"You're welcome," Nite Owl answered with a smirk.

Ushijima and the superhero stared at each other, Semi and Little Giant both glanced at them upon feeling the tension sparkling.

"Make sure to lock her up in a place that can't be  _chopped_  down too easily." Nite Owl continued with a wink, turning around to leave with his sidekick.

Ushijima nodded to Semi and another soldier who grabbed the half-conscious villain and pulled her up. She glared at them as they forced her to move towards the truck that would take her to her new home: a comfortable cell.

" _Nite Owl!"_  She suddenly shrieked, turning around despite the burning pain shooting through her back.

He stopped, turning around to face her, frowning darkly as she screamed, her face deformed by hatred:

"I don't care how long it takes! But I'll get out, and I'll find you! I'll destroy you and  _everything_  you hold dear! DO YOU HEAR ME, NITE OWL?! I  _WILL_  HAVE MY REVENGE ON THE WORLD AND  _YOU!"_

"Oh, shush and get a move on," Semi mumbled, pushing her forward.

She hissed, trying to jump at him, but he tased her and she fell down, half-unconscious.

Ushijima turned towards Nite Owl to see his reaction, but he ignored her threats. He nodded to Little Giant and he went off, an orange arrow in the night.

"I guess I'll see you later, Major General~!" Nite Owl said just as he reached his new and shiny Nite Bike.

And just like that, he disappeared into the night, leaving a trail of golden sparkles.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be much lighter, with some Asahi love~!
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	10. Food of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the new chapter, sorry for being late! I hope you'll like it!
> 
> I need to thank once again my beta-reader, animeviolonist001 on ff.net and AwkardPotatoChild on AO3, who pointed out to me all the mistakes in this chapter, which I tried to correct as best as I could.

 

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER X : Food of Love

" _Do good to others and every man can be a Superman."_

―  **Superman #156, Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan & George Klein**

Tooru hurried through the door of the café, looking around and grinning when he saw the person he was meeting. He walked to her and immediately sat down. Hanae didn't seem surprised and smiled at him.

"I hope you don't mind that I went in without waiting for you," she started.

"Not at all! I'm glad you got away from that downpour!" He answered, glancing at the window, a curtain of heavy rain was falling.

A waitress arrived and after ordering tea, Tooru settled into the seat comfortably, staring at the beautiful woman in front of him. A few days after meeting her for the first time, he had gone back to the Karasuno bar, and learned from Ukai that she had been coming back every evening. Tooru had decided to wait for her and had been absolutely enchanted when he saw her come in, a dumbfounded expression on her face when she saw him.

A beautiful mask of fake surprise that would have fooled him if he didn't know any better.

They had talked for a while and then he had walked her home without any expectation. They had exchanged numbers and had met a few times since, always falling into an easy talk.

Losing track of the time going by because of her words and his line of thoughts, Tooru had to shake himself to remember to not trust and believe her too easily. Everything sounded like a beautiful truth, but he knew it was a perfectly crafted lie. But even knowing that… he couldn't help but be more honest than he would have been with anyone else, he couldn't help but stare at her face and see her mask drop every once in a while.

It was like that night, years ago.

But so much had changed since then, he didn't know what to believe.

"Do you still work for the Tokyo Museum?" Hanae asked, the perfect representation of the impeccable and polite young woman that she ought to be.

After the Art Slicer's attack at the museum, Tooru had continued working for them for a few weeks because they had feared the Slicer might attack again. Now that she was in jail, there were no more worries and he had been freed – and generously paid.

"Not anymore, I can go back to day-time work." He answered, "I've mostly been helping out the police recently. What about you? Are the children behaving?"

"They are!" She answered with a chuckle, "Sometimes, they're a little mischievous, but it's normal at this age. The other day, Atsushi-kun didn't do his homework and guess what he gave me as excuse?"

"The dog had eaten it?" He proposed, raising an eyebrow.

"Aliens had kidnapped him and kept him from doing his homework!"

Tooru couldn't help it and laughed loudly, imagining the scene perfectly in his head. He was certain he too had used this excuse a few times when he was a kid.

Hanae stared at him as he laughed, and a smile appeared on her face, her eyes sparkling to see him so relaxed and natural with her…

"Oh, kids, I swear…" He sighed, shaking his head lightly in amusement.

Her smile wavered and she continued, glancing at the window to watch the rare people who had gone out in this rain walking by quickly.

"I told him it was impossible… but he said there was no way I could prove he was wrong about aliens – because of what had happened with the meteor… They're all so worried, all the time… Yesterday, a little girl cried when her mother was late to come pick her up because she thought she was gone like all… all the others."

Tooru's heart squeezed painfully when he realised that the worry and guilt he could see in her eyes wasn't fake. She  _was_  feeling bad because of the sentiment of insecurity that was haunting the children she was teaching, she  _wanted_  to help.

"Maybe letting them think of aliens being the cause of all this is better than if they knew the truth… whatever it might be." He said, glancing aside with a serious expression on his face.

"But they're scared… What… what about you?" She asked, leaning forward, "What do  _you_  think really happened with this meteor? Was it an alien attack or a test gone wrong like what NASA said?"

Tooru straightened up, taking a deep breath. He crossed his ankle over his knee, thinking deeply about his answer. If it were anyone else, he'd start giving his theories, laid out with all of his proof… but this was  _Minami Hanae_ , the school teacher pretending to not be a spy that was following him everywhere. He couldn't be careless about his words – he didn't know what would happen to him, or to Tsukishima, or the pillars of this transforming society: Nite Owl and Little Giant.

Hanae, or rather at this moment, Shiori, noticed the alien socks around his ankles and couldn't help smiling, which she quickly hid. It broke her heart to put up such a mask around him when he was so sweet and honest, but she had a mission. And right now, this question, as innocent as it sounded to anyone else, might give her some clues on who Oikawa Tooru truly was. She needed to focus.

"I think that the truth must be quite horrible, if the few who know it keep it so confidential," he answered in a hard voice, staring right into her eyes.

It lasted less than a second, but the mere hesitation he saw was enough to confirm his doubts. He swallowed hard and looked away, unable to glance at her. Like he had thought… she had something to do with this 'truth'. Whether she was aware it or not, he couldn't tell, but she knew more than he did.

"Isn't that what always happens anyway?" She asked in a low voice, leaning backwards and staring back at him.

The atmosphere between them was electrical now, and not necessarily in a good way. They could both feel that there was a change in the conversation and their behaviour. Right now, they were revealing their true colours. But they wouldn't stop or go back on the right path for the role they've been taught to play – this feeling of being absolutely honest was exhilarating and new. They didn't want it to stop. Not yet. The truth and the hurt could wait a little longer.

"The winners are the ones who write history, isn't it?" She continued carefully.

"…Are you saying that this is a war and they've won?" Tooru asked, frowning lightly.

"I'm saying… that whoever caused this catastrophe… human or not… broke enough of our values to help humanity lose the war between order and chaos."

There was a long and heavy silence. The background sounds of the heavy rain and the café noises were smothered by the intensity of their gazes.

Tooru turned his head away, then smirked darkly. It surprised Hanae enough that she had to hold back a shiver, but her heart beat excitedly realizing that for all his good manners and charming smiles, Oikawa Tooru was a lot more dangerous than he seemed to be.

"I wouldn't claim victory for chaos so soon. It's always in the darkest night that the stars shine the brightest." He said as he turned back to her, his expression softening.

Speechless. She stared back at him and with no pretence, she truly was speechless by the faith and softness in his expression. So raw, so strong, so tender – all at once, in these beautiful chocolate eyes.

"I love the stars…" She whispered.

"I know…" He answered in a hushed voice.

"Could we– do you…"

Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard, not daring to ask him such a thing. But without a word, he understood and smiled brightly.

"Yes."

She shouldn't have smiled the way she did, she shouldn't have listened so closely to her heart singing happily, but she couldn't help herself.

Oikawa Tooru truly was a dangerous man…

_During the night, in another part of Tokyo…_

Azumane Asahi smiled happily as he took out the trays of pastries from the oven. He laid them down, letting them cool while he checked on the bread. He started organizing his bakery for the day, putting all the bread behind their tags. He put down all the pastries for the day, then started preparing more batches of pain au chocolat or croissants – a lot of his regulars liked them warm and crispy in the early morning.

He opened the bakery, breathing the fresh air of November with a smile on his face, before going back into the warm and cozy feeling of his shop. He was putting aside the breads and pastries for his regulars that he knew would come soon just as the customers, regulars or not, started showing up.

Everyone who came to the Morning Sun bakery, regardless of their mood, would smile instantly, feeling happy and welcome in this cute place. They didn't love it just for the delicious taste of the pastry on their way to their jobs, or the warmth it gave them in the dark, winter morning, but mostly for the baker himself. Azumane Asahi was the true light of this bakery. His gentleness and sweet smile made everyone happy to just come in and breath in the scent of fresh baked goods.

Asahi looked up when a particularly cheerful voice broke through the quietness of the morning. He blinked, seeing someone he hadn't never seen, accompanying one of his most regular clients – Iwaizumi Hajime.

"And she's so smart and intelligent! I feel so stupid when I talk with her!" His friend exclaimed enthusiastically.

" _That_  must be a new feeling for you, then," Iwaizumi mocked with a side smile.

"Don't make fun of me, Iwa-chan!"

Iwaizumi smirked, turning towards Asahi who smiled like he always did, even though the police officer's smile didn't reach his eyes. It hadn't in a long while.

"Azumane, how are you today?" He asked.

"I'm fine, like always! You know I'm always doing great at this hour! What about you? Heading for work?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna take a box of croissants for my colleagues, a dozen please. And my usual." He answered with a nod and a polite smile.

Asahi nodded, starting to prepare the box of croissants for him. He glanced quickly at Iwaizumi's friend who was intensely staring at the pastries on display.

"I think I'll take a milk bread…" He murmured to himself before turning towards Iwaizumi, "Hey! Iwa-chan! Are the milk bread here good?"

"Yeah, everything's good here. Azumane is the best baker I know."

"After your fiancée, she is an incredible baker," Asahi remarked with a smile before lightening up a little, "I haven't seen her in a while! How is she?"

Oikawa froze, turning towards his best friend, but Iwaizumi didn't waver or even blink.

"She's fine. Busy with work."

"I see, I see! I'll grab some freshly made pain au chocolat, so it'll still be warm when she gets it!" Asahi exclaimed, going into the back to get the order.

The moment he turned around, Iwaizumi's smile wavered, but Oikawa didn't say anything.

Asahi came back quickly, finishing their orders with smiles.

"I live nearby, but I've come here. That's a shame because it all looks delicious," Oikawa commented.

"Really? You two are close friends I take it?" Asahi continued, handing them their orders.

"Yeah, childhood friends, unfortunately," Iwaizumi answered despite the fondness in his eyes.

"Iwa-chan! Don't say it like that!"

It made the baker laugh lightly as Oikawa continued.

"We actually live in the same building even now, but I usually go to work at various hours, and I never came around here. It's on his way for to the police station, but I rarely go there with him."

"Good thing you decided to pass by today then. I hope you enjoy the milk bread, sir!" Asahi said.

Maybe it was the cheerfulness of the baker, the cosiness of the bakery, or the sweet smell around them, but both Oikawa and Iwaizumi couldn't help but smile and feel relaxed, happier.

"Thank you! I'm certain I will!" he answered.

They left the bakery, and it took a few minutes of walking in the fresh air for the joyful dizziness that had taken over them to dissipate. They passed a bin and Iwaizumi threw away the paper bag that should have been for Kiku… What had happened in the bakery slowly came back to Oikawa's mind.

"…You and Kiku-chan always left at the same time for work. You passed by this bakery, didn't you?" He asked in a knowing voice.

"…Yeah."

Iwaizumi looked ahead, apparently unfazed, but trying to control the raging emotions within him, while Oikawa looked down, his heart squeezing painfully.

"You seem to know that baker pretty well. Why didn't you tell him about Kiku-chan?" He asked.

Iwaizumi shrugged, unable to meet his friend's eyes.

"I just couldn't… I can't. I don't know… he's… he's such a sweet guy. I can't do that and after all this time lying, there wasn't an opportunity for me to tell him such a thing…"

"He doesn't know that she disappeared? I mean, with the timing and everything…"

"Maybe he pretends to not know for my sake. Who knows." He mumbled with a half-hearted shrug, "He asked me about her several times. I said she was working in another part of town with very early hours and that… I was just bringing her pastry to her now."

"But you just threw it in a bin…" Oikawa said, his voice close to an accusatory tone.

"I do what it takes to keep hope." Iwaizumi answered, his voice sounding almost angry, but it was just full of hurt.

Oikawa glanced at him, opening his lips to say something comforting, but they arrived at the Miyagi Police Station and there was no more time to say anything. Iwaizumi looked relieved by it.

"Ah! Iwaizumi!" Daichi exclaimed when he saw them arrive.

Sensing the confusion from a few people preparing to go, it didn't take long for the two friends to realize that something had happened.

"Is it a superhuman?" Oikawa asked eagerly, wanting to get closer to the police investigation in order to find more clues for his aliens' theory.

"We don't know yet. A murder case. One of ours." Daichi said quickly.

"One of ours got murdered?" Iwaizumi asked, eyes widening and instinctively looking around to see who was missing.

"One of ours  _murdered_  his wife…" Daichi corrected in a tight voice, "Can you head out with Shimizu? I have a meeting with the Shiratorizawa guys, so I can't go."

"Which is why I'm here too. I need to meet with this pompous Ushiwaka bastard." Oikawa piped in, an annoyed smile on his face.

"Ah, sure. I'll go." Iwaizumi answered.

He glanced down at the box of croissants he had brought then gave it to his chief who lit up.

"Oh! Thanks!"

"Yeah, it's nothing," Iwaizumi mumbled, handing his own paper bag to Oikawa.

"You're not gonna eat it?"

"Not hungry anymore…"

And without another look at his friend, he followed the rest of the team who would be working on the murder case. Both Sawamura and Oikawa watched him leave.

"…He's not okay. You shouldn't give him cases like this." Oikawa said, frowning lightly.

"I tried to lighten his workload, but he figured it out and forced me to give him more work. It's a good distraction for him…"

His voice trailed off and Oikawa sent him a hard look.

"No, it's not." He said.

"It's not," Sawamura agreed with a sigh, "But right now, that's all he feels like doing – working. He'll get over it, he just needs time."

"You make it sound like she's dead…" Oikawa murmured, looking down and keeping his lips tight.

Daichi hesitated, uncomfortable, before he sighed.

"We still have no clues about the missing people… They're mostly considered dead at this point. Most of their families and friends have grieved and are moving on. Iwaizumi… he's not grieving just her disappearance, but also the loss of the future they could have had. It'll take time, but he'll get over it."

He tapped Oikawa's shoulder in a comforting manner before walking away, leaving the box of pastries for everyone.

"You can't get over something like that…" He mumbled to himself, his determination to find out clues about the truth of that night renewed.

The team made up of Shimizu, Iwaizumi, and some police officers, accompanied by Saito Akane from the lab, went to the crime scene. It had happened in the married couple's apartment and the entire commotion had been heard by neighbours who had called the police. A big argument had erupted between the two, the Miyagi Police Station's police officer murdered his wife with his gun, then put it into his mouth in grief.

The testimonies were quickly collected and the bodies and crime scene examined. While the evidence was being gathered and the medical examiner was about to carry out the bodies, silence fell on the team of investigators.

"You okay?" Shimizu asked Iwaizumi when she noticed that he was completely still, his pen resting over the paper.

He turned to her then nodded quickly.

"Yeah, just didn't have enough coffee this morning…"

She noticed the way his eyes glanced at the bodies then away. She followed his gaze then tuned completely towards him.

"This case is easy enough for me to handle it on my own. I'm sure Daichi can find you another–"

"I don't need to be protected, Shimizu!" He exclaimed, before wincing at his tone, "Sorry… I know that you're all worried for me, but… I'm  _fine_. Really."

She stared at him and he stared back, putting up a confident face. Her grey eyes seemed to read right through him, but he was too used to the woman to be uncomfortable by it.

"…If you say so." She finally answered with a shrug.

She went to talk with Saito who was gathering everything that had been covered in blood splatter.

Hajime's gaze noticed that one of the objects she was collecting was a paper bag from the Morning Sun Bakery. There were a few drops of blood. Then, he caught sight of a picture of the couple on their wedding day, so happy and smiling beyond joy.

He turned away, trying to swallow back his bitterness.

_Meanwhile, at the Miyagi Police Station…_

Sawamura could feel the tension as if it were a gas about to smother him. But he ignored the discomfort he felt and glanced across the table at the rest of the Shiratorizawa Special Force. They were all perfectly relaxed and at ease while Ushijima was giving the results to General Washijou. He was an old and cranky man who looked down at everyone and had barely spared a glance at the Superintendent of the Miyagi Police Station. From what Sawamura had understood, he was one of the main Generals of the Japan Self-Defense Force, and one of the pillars of the government ever since the meteor night.

"We have very few dangerous superhumans actively trying to cause chaos and the few who manifested themselves have been stopped by our forces." Ushijima concluded, putting down the papers.

"But only because of that hero… vigilante of sorts…" Washijou said, narrowing his eyes.

"Nite Owl and the Little Giant show no animosity and there is no reason to arrest them."

"But they're causing trouble, putting people in danger by acting  _against_  our forces. I don't like these two acting so freely in the city."

"They aren't acting against us, only against dangerous superhumans. They can act against some dangerous people that the police or the Special Force can't handle because of strength or timing. Furthermore… they are raising the people's spirits."

"If people want to admire people, put some singers or something. Someone we can control."

Sawamura didn't like the direction this conversation was turning, and so did Ushijima if the way he tightened his lips in the slightest way was any clue. He leaned forward, ignoring the way Tendou suddenly looked at him before he even opened his lips, as if he knew what he was about to say.

"With all due respect, sir…" Sawamura started.

Everyone turned to him at once, Washijou's disdainful gaze making his voice trail off.

"I don't think there is any issue with Nite Owl and Little Giant's actions. If anything, it's positive. They raise people's spirits  _and_  they help us, the Shiratorizawa Special Force as much as the police. The real problem is with our incapacity to gather clues about the cases of missing people and the lack of new information concerning what happened the night of the meteor… Furthermore–"

"I don't remember giving you the authorization to talk," Washijou cut.

A few of the soldiers glanced worriedly between their General and the dark gaze that Sawamura was sending him. Only Tendou looked mildly amused, even though the tension sparkled even more.

"And I don't  _need_  the authorization to talk, sir." Sawamura answered without blinking an eye, his voice hard, " _I_  am the Superintendent of this police station, which you use as headquarters with  _my_  team's resources. I'm not one of your soldiers you can give orders or authorizations. If you want my help, you'll listen to me."

Washijou stared at him coldly, unimpressed, but Ushijima intervened, his calm voice soothing everyone's tense bodies:

"Sawamura-san's resources and his team are very valuable for our work, and his opinions are often objective and useful. We should listen to him, sir."

"…Very well. What else do you need to say?" Washijou asked the Superintendent.

"…As I was  _saying_ , there is a rise in crime caused by the apparition of superhumans. We also suspect an increase in organized crime, causing trouble and being very active on the black market."

Washijou glanced quickly at his team, then back at Sawamura, before standing up. And despite his crouched figure and old age, the uniform and absolute power emanating from him were enough to make everyone lean back in respect.

"That rise in crime can't be helped, but it should be resolved as soon as possible. As for those organized crime groups, your first step should be to determine whether it exists or not and if it does, get rid of it."

He glanced at Ushijima, giving a sharp nod at his specially trained team.

"You must team up, the Miyagi Police Station and my Special Force– I will send you the results from the Inarizaki Special Force in the Kansai region. Perhaps it will motivate and inspire you all."

"They have better results than us?" Semi asked, sounding surprised.

"But we have a success rate of over seventy five percent when it comes to stopping superhumans and maintaining order," Reon said, blinking.

"Seventy five percent, you say…?" Washijou said, glancing at him before his lips curled back into a disappointed grimace, "The Inarizaki Special Force has a hundred percent rate. Get to their level or measures will be taken."

Everyone from the Shiratorizawa Special Force shivered, even Ushijima lost his composure for a moment. Whether it was from that other Special Force's perfect record, or if it was because of the hidden threat behind that order, Sawamura couldn't tell, but he swallowed hard.

"I'm done here. Keep sending me your results." Washijou ordered, already walking out of the room.

At once, the entire Special Force stood up and bowed to his departure, saluting him in a single voice. Trained like  _perfect_  soldiers, Sawamura realised. And yet, according to their General, they were failing their mission and this statement was haunting them – he could see it in their eyes.

"Pfff… well, now we can breathe again…" Tendou let out, pulling at his tie and opening his jacket.

"He seems… tough." Sawamura commented with an uneasy smile.

" _Tough_  is an understatement," Semi answered.

Ushijima didn't answer, going back over the files he had shown the General.

"You are dismissed," he finally said.

Most seemed relieved to leave and have a few minutes to themselves. Sawamura hesitated, but followed the crowd, noticing Semi suddenly hurrying towards Akane who was passing by. Smiling, they started talking, not realizing that just a few meters behind, Kuroo was watching them. The scientist frowned from afar, walking straight into a desk and making the files he was carrying fall over. Daichi smirked, amused to see the usual smooth talker so clumsy and jealous.

He went into his office and sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling. He had a feeling that something was amiss and not everything was being shared between the Shiratorizawa Special Force and the Miyagi Police Station. They were obeying orders without blinking an eye, trained to be some of the most effective team of the Japan Self-Defence Force. What were their exact orders if they were  _failing?_

Kuroo was writing some report when Akane came back into the lab, a smile on her face. He stared at her, eyes narrowed. She was so lost in her own little world that she didn't notice his staring until she turned around to grab her water bottle.

"…What?" She mumbled.

"…You're smiling."

"Is that a crime?"

" _No_ … but… you don't  _usually_  smile like that…"

"I'm in a good mood." She answered with a shrug.

"Even though one of our colleagues murdered his wife then shot himself?" He asked, stunned.

She hesitated, turned towards him and winced then turned back towards her computer.

"My life doesn't only revolve around my job,  _unlike you_. I have plenty of reasons to be happy over grieving for a man I never talked to."

"Hey! I have a life too!" He exclaimed, offended and straightening up.

" _Please_ , you think I don't know that you bring your files home to keep working on them? You only go home to eat, sleep, and take showers."

"At least I don't go around and fuck  _everyone_  I meet," he replied harshly.

She dropped everything and turned around, glaring at him.

"Neither do I." She hissed.

Tetsurou remained silent, feeling bad. He lowered his gaze then let his hands go through his hair, a sign that he was feeling uncomfortable. It made her relax, knowing that after all these years, he still had these habits.

"Sorry… I shouldn't have said…  _that_ …" He mumbled apologetically.

Akane huffed, then turned back towards the pile of evidence she still had to analyse. Tetsurou glanced around, wincing at the sudden tension in the air. Most of the team was off for lunch and Yakkun had gone to pick up theirs. It was only him and Akane and they hadn't argued like that in…  _since_ …

He realised that the two of them were rarely together, and usually had work.

"Hey… I'm… I'm really sorry…" Tetsurou said, standing up and approaching her.

"I know…" She mumbled, trying to ignore him.

"You should take a break, y'know."

"I don't feel like it."

"And I'm the one who doesn't have a life outside of my job?" He asked sarcastically.

She turned to him, glowering but when she saw his raised eyebrow and smirk… she couldn't help but feel her frustration melt away due to the sparkling feelings she had had in her heart for years now.

"…I don't do  _that_  anymore, you know. I… I'm doing real relationships now…" Akane said, referring to what he had accused her of earlier.

She sounded so fragile, he almost fell to his knees. But Tetsurou knew it wasn't just the tone of her voice that made him so weak. It was also knowing that these "real relationships" were with anyone but him.

"I know…" He answered, his gaze vibrant with emotions she couldn't quite understand.

Disturbed by his golden eyes and by the beatings of her heart, Akane stood up and grabbed another evidence bag. She observed it a moment, a paper bag with a pastry from some bakery… She needed to analyse the blood on it.

"What a waste…" Tetsurou mumbled with a pout.

She opened the plastic bag and at once, the sweet scent from the pastry, even hours after it had gone cold, invaded their senses. They both breathed deeply, closing their eyes and suddenly feeling their blood flowing anew. Their bodies were warm, their hearts beating hard and their desire… tight in their stomachs.

Akane and Tetsurou opened their eyes once again, staring at each other, electricity in the air.

"What… what a waste…" He repeated in a low, sultry voice that sent fire through her veins all the while he stared at her cherry-red lips.

"I… y- _yeah_ …"

Her own eyes stared at his lips and she closed her eyes. She could feel it – the way his lips would brush, kiss, bite, and lick her skin, leaving delicious bruises all over her body. She missed it – the way his skin felt against hers, the burning sensation of his muscles against her curves, the way he moved into her body.

Tetsurou approached, his hand against hers. It made them shiver and they looked into each other's eyes once again.

Their desire, ignored for too long, was smelling so sweet now. They could almost taste it. Their passion alit once again, about to set fire to their souls.

Their lips crashed against one another. Tetsurou surrounded her body with his strong arms. It was too much and not enough all at once and they breathed hard, their hands wandering all over their bodies, craving more, more,  _more_ … They couldn't stop kissing, breathing heavily, greedily touch each other's body, engraving their rapture into the other's flesh.

Within seconds, hot and fallen into their own worlds, they fell against the desk, bringing down Akane's chair and half of what was laying on her desk. Tetsurou bit her neck and she screamed out, wrapping her legs around his waist to bring him closer to her. He hungrily kissed her mouth again, not having enough while they started clawing at each other's clothes.

"What the fuck?!"

Tetsurou and Akane jumped, brought back to reality by Yakkun's shocked voice. They stared at each other for a while, shocked. Then, he suddenly moved away as quickly as he had jumped on her and she swiftly straightened up, arranging her clothes and standing up. They moved away from each other, breathing heavily and trying to appear calm despite their red cheeks and still burning desire.

"What is wrong with you?! Get a room! We have so much evidence lying around! What if you contaminate them?!" Yakkun exclaimed, shaking his head while he put down the pile of lunches.

"What…" Tetsurou breathed, staring at him in disbelief.

"I said,  _get a room_ , you two! Are you deaf?! Anyone could see too!  _Seriously!"_

"That's the only thing you can say?! You're not… shocked that we'd… do something like this?" Tetsurou continued, seeing Akane freeze from the corner of his eye.

It was Yakkun's turn to look surprised, blinking at him in disbelief. He glanced between Tetsurou and Akane.

"Everyone knows you're dating, but you could at least keep it together when we're at work." He answered, as if it were obvious.

"We're not dating!" Tetsurou exclaimed, a new rush of blood to his cheeks making him dizzy.

Akane suddenly darted out of the room, pushing Yakkun out of the way who didn't understand why they were reacting this way. Tetsurou tried grabbing her arm, but she was too fast and he only caught thin air. He felt like he was at the airport, waiting for time to come back and give him another chance to fix what they had broken. But time had gone on and she had been gone too long for anything to be fixed.

"If you're not dating, why were you all over each other like animals in heat?" Yakkun asked, confused.

"Wait–  _everyone_  thinks we're dating?!"

"Well… yeah?"

Tetsurou clapped his hands over his face, distraught and panicked. How long had everyone assumed he and Akane were  _dating?!_

Yakkun seemed to finally realise that his friends had  _not_  been dating in secrecy all this time, and he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Oh."

Kuroo looked up from his hands, glaring at him.

"…But, um, you seem… you seemed… busy and– Kuroo! Wait! Don't be angry!"

Yaku watched him run out, probably after Akane considering the direction he had taken. He glanced around the empty lab, realizing that after this mess, he'll have lunch all alone.

Tetsurou found Akane just as she was leaving the restroom. Upon seeing him, she tried to run back in, but he caught her arm and dragged her into the nearest dark hall.

"We need to talk!" He exclaimed, pushing her against the wall.

"No, we don't!" She answered, glaring at him.

"What just happened–"

"–Was a  _mistake!_  I don't…! I don't even know what took over me! I don't feel that way for you! Not anymore!"

He held his breath, hurt beyond what he would have expected. His lips tightened, his eyes burned, and he shook his head.

"I thought so too… but…"

"Tetsurou!" She hissed, breathlessly before covering her face with her hands, "Stop… please…! There's no way we could– we're  _wrong_  for each other, you know that. We'd only break more…"

"But… I…"

_I waited for you. I tried to get you back._

_**Not hard enough.** _

And now it was too late. Nine years too late.

"I didn't want you to go… all these years ago, I… I made mistakes, we both did…" Tetsurou started in a shaky voice, staring at his feet.

"You made perfectly clear that you didn't want a mess like me…" She whispered, unable to look at his face.

"And you made it perfectly clear that you didn't want to even give us another chance!" He replied, voice breaking at the accusation that shouldn't rest only on her shoulders. They were both to blame for what had broken between them.

She stared back at him, eyes filled with tears, but she had let too many salty drops roll down her cheeks to let another one wet her cheeks now.

"We had our chance, Tetsurou… We messed up. We can't go back to that time, and we can't… we can't ignore the pain we gave each other…"

Her fingers trembled and she almost put her hand against his cheek, but at the last moment, she stopped herself. She couldn't afford this small gesture of comfort…

He opened and closed his lips, but there was nothing else to say. She gently pushed away his arm that was blocking her way, leaving him alone with a broken heart and a burning soul.

Akane walked away, not having the strength to look back. Neither her, nor Tetsurou a few minutes later when he went to get his stuff to go home, realised that Semi Eita had heard everything, hidden behind a corner.

When Tetsurou went back into the lab, there was only Yakkun who sheepishly (and safely) remained quiet. His intention had been to get his bag, and go home to suffer alone and away from everyone, but he noticed that everything he and Akane had made fall in their strange moment was still on the floor.

"Akane barked at me to stay away from her desk when I tried cleaning up," Yakkun explained, sipping his coffee from the safety of his own desk.

Not caring much for his life, Tetsurou sighed and started picking up the various files and notebooks. He put it all back on the desk and he stared at her organizer, filled with papers and notes. He saw the corner of what seemed to be a photography. Curious, he opened it and his heart squeezed painfully. He knew that photography, he had the same folded in his wallet. It was the two of them, years ago, when they were still together and happy… It was a picture she had taken while they were in bed, his hair was worst than usual. He had been kissing her neck and tickling her side, making her laugh beautifully. He hadn't seen that smile and laugh in years now. From the state of the photography, damaged and covered in white lines, Akane had obviously tried to tear it apart, crumpled it into a ball, tried to throw it away… But like how he still had that very same picture in his wallet, even if he didn't look at it, he couldn't get rid of it. Not really. Just like they couldn't get rid of the mark they had left in each other's hearts.

He closed the organizer abruptly and almost turned away when his gaze noticed the opened evidence bag with the pastry. His eyes narrowed and he picked it up. He hesitantly sniffed it a little, smelling the scent of a cold pastry… and something sweet that tingled his nose and made his heart speed up a little. It reminded him of Akane. And when she had opened it earlier, it had been the trigger for their heated kiss.

_What if…?_

He stared at the paper bag with Morning Sun Bakery written on it. He couldn't take evidence used for an investigation with him, but he needed to look into it. It'd explain his and Akane's behaviour earlier. Maybe.

"I'm going home. Don't call me unless it's an emergency." He said suddenly.

"Uh, okay?"

He walked away in a hurry, not even noticing a couple of Shiratorizawa Special Force's men that passed by. Tendou narrowed his eyes at him, watching him walk away.

"Something wrong?" Reon asked, tilting his head.

"I have a feeling that this guy is hiding something…"

"You can't read his mind?" He continued, surprised.

"Not really… he's not a superhuman, that much I can tell. But his mind is locked up. Like… he's hiding something from himself, lying to himself and it's messing with my mind-reading… Also the amount of cat and nerd thoughts is insane. I'd need to be alone in a room with him and focus entirely on trying to read his mind to get something."

"We can't do that without being suspicious, Tendou. And if you try too hard to read someone's mind, you know what happens… I don't want to have to save your life again…" Reon finished in a low voice.

His friend glanced at him, but didn't answer as they continued inside the building.

_A few hours later…_

Bokuto walked towards Kuroo and Tsukishima who were waiting at a street corner for him.

"Hey hey! Why did you ask me to come here so suddenly?"

"I think we need to investigate someplace that might have a… superhuman there." Kuroo said gravely, "A murder happened, a guy from our team who isn't the short-tempered type. He killed his wife after a big argument, then killed himself. We don't understand what happened, but… there was something in the apartment that gave me… a strange reaction earlier."

"What sort of reaction?" Tsukishima asked.

"Uuum… I just got… a bit… sweaty. Anyway."

Tsukishima and Bokuto glanced at each other, unconvinced by the obvious lie that made their friend blush. The superhuman was about to tease him when Kuroo pointed at a bakery at the other side of the street.

"Bokuto and I will go inside, see what happens… then Tsukishima, you'll go there and pretend to write an article or something. Ask to go in the back."

"I guess it could work, but if there's some sort of danger, what should we expect?" The journalist asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I… have… no idea. But it'll mess with your brains. And possibly your heart and body, giving you weird and unexpected,  _totally unexplained_  reactions to  _certain_  people." Kuroo answered, patting his chest as if to check if his heart was beating regularly.

Once again, his two friends glanced at each other curiously, not understanding what he was talking about. Before any more questions could be asked and embarrass him further, Kuroo grabbed Bokuto's arm and started dragging him away. The hero stared at him sharply before speaking up calmly.

"Were those strange reactions to your heart and body towards a certain person? A certain person working with you, and whom you've been in love with since forever? A certain Saito Akane, perhaps?" He asked knowingly.

Kuroo stopped abruptly and whipped towards him so suddenly Bokuto almost startled.

"H-how did you know that I'm in- I  _was_  in love with her and that she's the one involved in that mess?!" He exclaimed, turning red.

"…Because she's the only girl you've ever dated who made you react this way?" Bokuto said with a casual shrug.

Kuroo gave him a dumbfounded look, as if he couldn't believe he was so easy to read for an air-head like Bokuto.

Then, they entered the Morning Sun Bakery and instantly stopped in their tracks. They took deep breaths of the warm, sweet smell of breads and pastries, and their lips tilted up, their shoulders relaxed.

"Welcome!" Asahi exclaimed with a lovely smile when he saw them enter, "How can I help you?"

"Wow, it smells so nice!" Bokuto exclaimed, looking around with a grin.

"Thank you very much! That's why I became a baker, to see people's smiles when they enter and smell my pastries," he answered.

"Wait,  _you're_  the baker?" Kuroo asked, pointing at him.

"I am, indeed," he answered with a little nod.

"I would have imagined a cute young girl with a fluffy apron… not a big guy with the look of a criminal instead…"

Bokuto elbowed him with big eyes, but Asahi, instead of getting offended, only chuckled awkwardly.

"I get told that a lot… I just want to look wild, though… One of my friends inspired me to be more confident with my looks." He explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think that's really brave! I like that! A wild look, hell yeah!" Bokuto exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I like your hair too. It's very wild to go for spiky white and black hair. It's not natural, is it?" Asahi asked.

"Hey hey, it's become like this after I became– aaaaah…"

Bokuto received Kuroo's elbow in his sides so suddenly that his voice turned into a strangled scream, then it went high-pitched as he tried to find a way to cover up his messing up.

"A-after I became aaa… a… a zookeeper! It was… in reference to the owls!"

Another elbowing and he stepped aside, casually pushing off Kuroo with one hand. The scientist's eyes widened when he just  _slid_  to the floor with how strong his friend was.

"I love owls! That's why! My name is also a reference to owls! Bokuto!" He exclaimed before advancing to the counter and presenting his hand, "Nice to meet you! You don't happen to have owl-inspired pastries, uh?"

"U-um, n-no, not yet…" Asahi answered sheepishly, taking the man's hand almost shyly.

"Not yet?"

"I want to create a pastry inspired by Nite Owl and Little Giant, to thank them for what they're doing for everyone. But so far, it hasn't really looked great… I don't really know what flavours to choose either. I'd love to meet them and ask what their favourite flavours are…"

Bokuto lit up, sparkling proudly.

"You're one of my–"

Kuroo coughed loudly to cover his voice and, undisturbed, Bokuto continued.

"You're one of  _Nite Owl's_  fan?! Me too! He's the coolest, isn't he?!"

"U-uh… y-yeah… I wish I could be as strong and brave…" Asahi answered with a wishful smile.

"But you  _are_  strong and brave!" Bokuto exclaimed suddenly, frowning at the man's lack of confidence, "You are making bread and pastries, which  _I_  cannot do! It's an amazing skill, and more importantly, you make people happy! Everyone who comes in here smiles and feels joy thanks to your bakery and your pastries! That's amazing!"

Asahi stared at him in awe as he paused thoughtfully.

"I'd say that's even cooler than any hero-work! Bringing every day joy to the people!" Bokuto exclaimed with a wink.

The baker blinked, stunned and warmed up by these words. He had a strange flashback of Nite Owl himself winking during an interview at a pretty reporter, more flustered himself than she had been… but it meant nothing, even if this strange guy kept referring to Nite Owl as "I".

"Y-you… do you think Nite Owl would like a pastry made after him?" He asked timidly.

"OH! I'd–"

Bokuto's voice was cut by Kuroo's kick in the back of his leg, then he continued, as happy as ever.

"He'd love to! I'm sure he'd be super proud to have a great pastry made after him! You should go with vanilla!"

"Uh?"

"The flavour! It's Nite Owl's favourite– w-well, not that I  _know_  his favourite flavour, but he seems like a guy who likes vanilla, doesn't he? Ah ah…"

Kuroo facepalmed, realizing now that it was a miracle Bokuto (and Hinata who was a mini-him) hadn't revealed their secret identities yet.

"Vanilla…? I had been opting for lemon and lavender but…"

"Lemon and lavender are fine! Perfect!" Kuroo piped in, pushing aside Bokuto (or trying to), "We'd like to order uh… four of the… the… chocolate things… here!" He said, pointing at the first pastry he could find.

"Oh, some éclairs! I'll get that for you right away!" Asahi answered, happily preparing the packet for the two friends.

"What's lamenda?" Bokuto asked in a low voice to Kuroo.

"It's  _lavender_ , you idiot! It's a plant!"

"But vanilla is good?" He whined.

"Vanilla also is a plant, you imbecile! And you don't get to choose, you're not Nite Owl, remember? You're Bokuto Koutarou! How can you… how…"

His voice trailed off as the scent of bread and pastries came out from the back just as Asahi went in the back room. Both men groaned hungrily before slumping forward, feeling groggy and happy for no reason other than the bakery was pure joy and peace. They wanted to stay there forever and their brains forgot everything that mattered other than soon, they'll get to taste this heaven on their tongues.

When they went back outside, the wind was so refreshing it cleared up their minds and made them feel like they've woken up from a strange and peaceful dream.

"That was nice…" Bokuto said with a smile.

"Yeah… what happened exactly? I know you almost shared your identity with that guy…"

"But he's so nice and comforting! I feel like I can trust him, y'know?"

"…Yeah… That's…  _weird_."

"Nah, it's just that he's got a nice bakery! I don't know what you imagined, but there's nothing wrong with him! He's too nice, there's no way he could be a villain, or cause a murder or anything!"

"…There's definitely something off with that bakery… or that guy… or… something…" Kuroo said, frowning.

Bokuto stopped and turned towards him, an amused smile on his face.

"Aren't you just desperate to find a reason to explain why whatever happened with Akane  _did_  happen?"

"So? Anything strange? And who is Akane?" Tsukishima asked after overhearing them as he was leaning against his motorbike two meters away.

"No one and  _nothing_  happened with Akane! But something  _did_  happen in there… I'm just not sure what. It's… cloudy." Kuroo answered.

" _Great_ , I'll record everything then." Tsukishima said, preparing his hidden camera.

"Can I eat a chocolate thingy while we wait?" Bokuto asked, hand reaching for the paper bag Kuroo was carrying.

"NO! We need to wait and make sure there's nothing wrong with these things! What if it turns you into a murder-psycho?! You have super strength and endurance. We wouldn't be able to stop you from becoming a serial-killer!" Kuroo exclaimed, holding the paper bag as far away from the pouty superhuman as possible.

"Then give one to Tsukishima and if he goes psycho, I'll punch him unconscious!"

"No." Tsukishima said with a deadpan look on his face.

"That is  _not_  a solution! Another punch from you and he'll be in a coma!"

"Aaaw, come on! I only punched him  _once!"_

"It was one too many times!"

"I panicked that time!"

"I'm going into the bakery," Tsukishima sighed, unheard by the two idiots.

He wasn't sure what to expect, and Kuroo and Bokuto, confused and joyful as they were, hadn't been of any help. So he went in as he would for any reporting and immediately sighed blissfully as the smell hit him. He looked around and his lips almost tilted into a smile… Almost, but he resisted, keeping a straight face on.

"Welcome, sir! What can I do for you?" The gentle giant of a baker asked with a big smile.

Tsukishima opened his mouth to talk, but his eyes caught sight of strawberry shortcake and his line of thoughts was cut.

"Strawberry shortcake!" He exclaimed, walking towards the display window.

"I-is this your order, sir?" Asahi hesitated.

It made Tsukishima come back to earth and he shook his head, turning towards the baker.

"Sorry, I got distracted. I… Let me introduce myself," he said, taking out a card, "I am a journalist, working for the Tokyo newspaper and we would like to write an article on your successful bakery, if it's alright with you."

"Oh, another one?" He answered, taking the card with a smile.

"Another one?" Tsukishima repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a few days ago, another journalist from another newspaper asked me the same thing. They asked me questions and walked around the bakery for a while before telling me they'll send me a copy of the article when it's published. But if you want to do the same, you're welcome here! I don't mind some advertising, ah ah!"

Tsukishima glanced around. He was feeling more and more foggy the more time he spent in this bakery, but in a good way. It was like a sleepy, peaceful feeling after spending the evening eating your favourite food and watching your favourite movie. In his case, that was Jurassic Park and strawberry shortcakes, maybe he should do that tonight. He'd–

He shook his head once again, forcing his brain to focus on what was going on here. Kuroo was right, there was definitely something off about this bakery, or that man, no matter how kind he seemed.

"I'd love to, thank you. Could you start by telling me how your day goes?"

For long minutes, he asked the baker all sorts of questions, as if he were really write an article on his bakery – perhaps he would, it felt so good here, after all. This bakery deserved more recognition. Then, Asahi kindly invited him to the kitchen to see how everything was made. He took pictures and videos, and continued asking him questions. He knew there were other things he needed to ask him, about strange things happening, but how could he do it discreetly? What were the questions again? It would drive him mad if he didn't ask soon.

"I must admit, you seem a lot more professional than that other journalist," Asahi said as they went back into the main part of the bakery.

"Eh?"

"That other journalist who came for an interview the other day? He was asking me very strange questions."

Tsukishima felt electricity zap his brain, bringing it back on the right track. It was the golden opportunity to learn more!

"What sort of questions?" He asked, sounding as innocent as he could.

"Oh, if I had secret ingredient– but my secret ingredient is love and care, you see."

"U-uh."

"And if my business rates had gone up since that dreadful night with the meteor and all these people disappearing… Or if I had noticed strange things happening… Those sort of questions, you know." He explained with a smile, unfazed by the very idea of suspicion.

"And… did it? Go up, I mean? Your business?" Tsukishima asked.

Asahi thought about this for a little while, before nodding with a smile.

"It has. I think it's because people want some more sweetness and joy after everything that happened… I don't see what else could possibly explain it."

"U-uh…"

"Would you like some strawberry shortcake, then?" Asahi asked and it was impossible to say no to that sweet smile and the idea of these delicious cakes.

"Yes, please."

It was only after a few steps outside of the bakery, breathing fresh air that Tsukishima started feeling a little less light-headed. But there was still a lingering feeling of bliss that he couldn't explain.

"There's something off with that bakery," he told the two men when he reached them.

Kuroo and Bokuto glanced at each other, then they decided to go to the Nest, so the scientist could analyse the baked goods they had gathered, and perhaps try to make sense of what was happening with this bakery.

At the Nest, and with the help of Kenma, they went over Tsukishima's recordings because of his foggy memory. Meanwhile, Kuroo was running tests on the few samples they got from the bakery.

"I'm curious to know who that other journalist was," Tsukishima said, "From what Azumane-san said, these questions got him weirded out and he's a very hard person to weird out. He's so… peaceful and positive…"

"I could see if there were any cameras recording nearby that could lead us to that person. You don't have any other information? Like a date or a physical description?" Kenma asked.

"My brain was too mushy to think to ask for that," he answered with a frown.

"Hey! Kuroo! Can we eat the pastries now?" Bokuto asked when he arrived into the room.

"We need to wait for the results first," Kuroo answered, "Nothing came up I guess?"

"Nope. I think I'll go home now. I have to get up early tomorrow morning." Tsukishima said, gathering his stuff.

"I'll go help out Hinata on patrol," Bokuto announced, heading to the underground room to get changed.

"I'll stay here tonight. I'll keep you updated if anything pops up," Kenma told Kuroo.

He considered going home, but… he didn't have the heart to be alone after what had happened earlier that day. There were some memories of Akane he didn't want to face at the moment.

"I… I'll stay too. I need to wait for the results anyway…"

Kenma sent him a knowing look, but only nodded, silently respecting his need for company.

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the city…_

Hinata, or the Little Giant as he was right now, was watching from a hiding place as several people were exchanging various bags, speaking in low voices. It would almost be normal if it weren't in a faraway side-road with no police patrols planned (Kenma had confirmed it to him a few minutes ago, which meant there was someone on the inside working with the police) and if it wasn't the middle of the night. And more importantly, he had been following one of the two groups for a few nights now.

About a week ago, he started rewatching some of his and Nite Owl's heroic actions, mostly to feel great about his accomplishments, partly to analyse the fights. He noticed that in a lot of videos or in superhuman sighting, there were people staring from afar with a serious, strange look on their face. He and Kenma had worked on this ever since, trying to track down who these people were and if they were of any threat. They were identified by a tattoo that they had, somewhere on their body: weasels. There wasn't much that either Kenma or Hinata had found, but now, what they were doing was pretty interesting – for a hero, at least.

Hinata was about to call Kenma or Bokuto to ask them if he should stop these guys from selling whatever it was on the black market, but then, the two groups stopped the exchange. They went into their respective cars and drove off. He hesitated, not knowing which one to follow, and decided to go after the Weasels.

Right now, he was wearing his night suit – black with orange details – which meant that he was invisible when moving quickly. He remained hidden and spied on the group that had stopped just before a big and traditional mansion.

"Komori-san has given us tonight's orders: the boss wants to grab that baker tonight. Several suspicious people stopped by the bakery." One said, just loud enough to be heard by his colleagues. Hinata was glad that Kenma had developed a new device to listen with a fifty-meters radius.

"Got it. I'll send a few guys then."

Hinata realized that someone was in danger and he lifted up his hand to communicate with Bokuto, pressing the mic in his helmet.

"Nite Owl, BB-5, you there?"

" _I told you to not call me that. It's ridiculous,"_  Kenma muttered.

"But Captain Kitty said it was your official code name!" Hinata answered.

He heard a growling sound, interrupted by Nite Owl before Kenma could complain more. "BB-5", which stood for "Big Brain 5", was a super cool code name, and he and Kuroo had spent a lot of time coming up with it.

" _What is it, Little Giant?"_  He asked.

If he was using his hero name, it meant he was probably out patrolling.

"These guys just said they're going to kidnap someone. Should I stop them?"

" _Well yeah! Kidnapping people is bad! Wait, who is going to kidnap who? What's going on?"_  Nite Owl asked, confused.

" _Are these the Weasels?"_  BB-5 asked.

" _What Weasels?"_  Nite Owl asked.

"Yeah, I think I found their base, but I just overheard that their boss wants to kidnap a baker or something…"

" _Wait, a baker?"_

"Yes. They didn't say who or where."

" _Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Bokuto?"_  BB-5 said in a serious voice.

" _Yeah, we're dealing with a lot of bakers today."_

" _ **Bokuto**_ _."_

" _What?"_ He said, as if there was nothing wrong in what he had just said.

"What's going on?" Little Giant asked, "What should I do? They're leaving!"

" _Follow them and keep us updated on what is going on. Nite Owl, hurry ahead to the Morning Sun Bakery."_ BB-5 ordered.

" _You think they're after our Sunshine Baker?"_

" _He mentioned being interviewed by someone strange a few days ago. I'm going to check if I see any cars or strange people have been lurking around his bakery recently. That fake journalist might have been a Weasel."_

" _Okay, who the fuck are these weasels? I don't suppose you mean the cute little animals."_

" _Hinata and I have been working on it for a few days now. They're an organized gang of criminals that lurk around superhuman sightings and fight scenes. We don't really know who or what they do though. We haven't found any evidence to prove our theories."_

" _Well, they're about to kidnap someone, so that's a pretty good evidence that they're not good people!"_

" _What if it's a trap to catch you all? A trap set up by these Weasels_ _ **and**_ _Asahi?"_  Kuroo– no, Captain Kitty, intervened.

" _Asahi is too nice for that! He can't be a criminal!"_  Nite Owl exclaimed.

"Who is Asahi?" Little Giant asked.

" _The baker they're about to kidnap, if our assumptions are correct. I suspected him of being a superhuman after a murder that happened this morning, which is why we went to his bakery today to investigate a little."_  Captain Kitty answered.

"Oh, so you're the suspicious guys who made the Weasels act! Wait, what murder?" Little Giant asked.

" _We need to work on our communication, guys…"_  BB-5 complained.

" _We weren't suspicious! We were super discreet!"_  Nite Owl exclaimed.

" _Tsukishima waited for you at a street corner and once you came back, he went into the bakery while you two waited for him. You didn't even try to hide! There's nothing more suspicious than that!"_  BB-5 said in an annoyed voice.

Nite Owl and Captain Kitty didn't say anything.

Little Giant arrived right in front of the silent bakery, but lost in the conversation, he hadn't seen where the car from the Weasels had ended up. He looked around just as Nite Owl, on his Nite Bike, arrived and stopped next to him.

"Where are the Weasels?" He asked.

"Um…"

Just then, they heard some struggling on the other side of the street. They saw several yakuza transporting the tall and large figure of the nice baker, hands tied, and bag thrown over his head. Considering the lack of struggle, he was unconscious.

"There they are! Let's catch them!" Nite Owl exclaimed, about to start his bike up again.

"Wait!" Little Giant exclaimed, grabbing his arm, "Kenma and I tried catching these guys, but we didn't have any proof! This is the perfect opportunity to gather some and stop them for good now _!"_

Nite Owl hesitated as they watched Azumane Asahi get put into the car that drove off at an insultingly normal pace instead of the wild chase they had expected.

"These Weasels are probably yakuza. Some of them might be superhumans, which would explain why they're always around!" Hinata continued, "Even a normal group of yakuza can't be stopped easily. We need plenty of evidence, like catching them red-handed!"

"We're not going to sacrifice that nice baker just to catch a bunch of criminals!"

"Of course not! But Ken– I mean, BB-5 is recording everything we're seeing and doing, right?" He said, tapping the side of his helmet where a small camera was hidden, "It'll be enough evidence. We can catch them in the wrong, save Asahi-san, and stop them from causing more trouble."

Nite Owl was frowning, but he pressed the mic on the side of his helmet. The car would soon be too far away for them to catch up easily to.

"BB-5? What do you think? Is it possible tonight?"

" _I guess. You'll have to be careful, though. We have no idea how many of them there are, and how many of them are superhumans. At the slightest risk, you should escape."_

"Then, we prioritize saving Asahi! Little Giant, hop on!" Nite Owl ordered, the engine of his Nite Bike roaring.

His sidekick jumped on behind him and they started following the car from a safe distance, not to the main house where Little Giant had seen them earlier, but to a faraway and abandoned warehouse.

"All right, Little Giant, you go to the left, and I go to the right. We wait and scope out the outside and especially the inside. Let's try to count how many of them there are before deciding what to do next. Engage only if you are in danger of being discovered or in immediate danger. Wait for my command," Nite Owl said.

"Got it, Nite Owl!"

He kept the Nite Bike hidden behind some trees and bushes, and they slowly approached the warehouse. There were two men with big guns at the front, probably many more doing rounds all around the building. Nite Owl made a sign to Little Giant to go to the left as planned. Using the few bushes and their outfits that could fade into the night background, they managed to go around and avoid being seen by the two men at the entrance.

There were two men guarding the back, but the sides of the warehouse seemed safe enough.

"Little Giant, let's knock out the two men at the back," Nite Owl murmured into the mic.

" _Got it!"_

He stepped outside of the bushes to do so but a smoke of sand was lifted up by Little Giant's suddenly arriving at the back of the warehouse. The two men didn't have time to react and got knocked out by the swift hero.

"You just keep getting better, aren't you?!" Nite Owl exclaimed proudly.

"Hey hey…~!" He answered, passing his hand against his neck, "Thank you, Nite Owl!"

They tried looking through the windows into the warehouse, but the view was hidden by piles of wooden storage boxes.

"There's an air vent right above us, let's use the Little Birb," Nite Owl whispered.

Little Giant nodded cheerfully as the hero took a little device from his tool belt that could be held in the palm of his hand. It was round, but shaped like a black bird.

"How does it work?" He continued in a low voice.

"You pull the tail and it starts flying and everything," Little Giant said.

"Right."

Nite Owl pulled at the tiny tail and Nite Birb started floating with a buzzing sound. He placed him through the air vent, and he flew through the wide pipe and into the building without trouble. His eyes lit up red and started scanning the entire area. The information and images he could capture were sent directly to both Nite Owl and Little Giant's night goggles they had put on.

" _Eighteen people in the building, plus the two at the front you haven't knocked out yet. One of them has to be our baker,"_  BB-5 said, even though they could see the heat signatures thanks to their goggles.

"It's like Iron Man! It's so cool!" Little Giant exclaimed, grinning in awe.

" _Focus, guys! It's a rescue mission, not make believe! There's a small room, about five meters away from where you're standing, but it has the most number of people there. Inside the room, there are three people and from the shapes I can see, I'd say one of them is our target. He is sitting on a chair."_

"All right, then, what's the plan?" Little Giant asked, taking off his goggles to see clearly.

"…We are going to start taking out the guards at the entrance in silence, then you'll distract everyone and try to draw them to the entrance. Meanwhile, I'll rescue Asahi." Nite Owl said, BB-5 humming in agreement to that plan.

"Got it!"

_ Meanwhile… _

Asahi gasped when the bag over his head was taken off roughly. He blinked, suddenly blinded by the dim, yellow light after so much darkness. His cheeks were wet from scared tears and sobs that had gone through him throughout the entire way there after he had woken up.

"How pathetic. Are you certain he'd be of use to us?"

The sharp voice made Asahi's attention go to the two men who were there. They were dressed in suits, but casually, jackets left open and ties gone.

"From our reports, he's probably a superhuman, and there have been many people who ended up dead after dealing with him!" The second man answered in a chirpy voice.

"Mmm."

Asahi stared at the two men, his heart pounding in fear against his chest.

The first man had wavy black hair, sharp dark eyes, and his lower face was covered by a white mask with a weasel drawn on it. Two moles were on the right side of his forehead and from under his unbuttoned shirt, there was a tattoo whose shape was impossible to make. The second man was smiling and seemed much more jovial, with parted light brown hair and thick eyebrows.

"What's that smell?" The dark-haired one asked, frowning darkly.

"It's coming off him. I think that's his power," his associate answered with a shrug, putting on a mask to block it.

"It smells of… what  _is_ this smell? It smells like something that shouldn't exist, that should just be a concept, like happy puppies or something…"

"Our men are going to run some tests, I guess. But that's not the important part now. We'll figure out his powers with time, like with the others."

Asahi choked, which attracted their attention back on him.

"W-who are you?" He asked, in a stifled, shaky voice.

The black-haired man seemed impressed he had found his voice, if the way he had raised his eyebrow was any indication.

"We might as well introduce ourselves now that we'll be working together for a better world, Azumane-san. My name is Komori Motoya and this is Sakusa Kiyoomi. We're part of the yakuza."

Asahi's eyes teared up again and he started hyperventilating, but it didn't disturb the two criminals.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Komori continued with a smile that was almost reassuring if he hadn't just admitted that he was a member of the yakuza and that they weren't in a distant abandoned facility of sort. "Consider ourselves as… ah, business men. Business men who work in the shadows of big companies, sometimes  _for_  these big companies actually. Our business was mostly drugs and weapons, but ever since the night of the meteor and the appearance of these  _powers_ … we've been dealing with  _other_  types of business."

It took a moment for Asahi to comprehend, but the glint in their eyes as they looked him over was enough to understand their motivations.

"H-hu-human… human traff-trafficking!" He exclaimed, hiccupping in panic.

" _Super_ human trafficking, but not just that. We're also running tests, to help people like you. You see, the transition from human to superhuman isn't always easy and many of us end up hiding and disappearing because we don't fit into society anymore… So, we help them find new paths. Sometimes, they want a job, so we offer it to them, if their values are not too important to them."

"I-I'm not… I'm not a superhuman…! I'm a normal person, I swear! I'm a baker, nothing more!" He exclaimed, his wrists burning from the tight, plastic handcuffs keeping him in the chair.

"Ooh…" Komori said in a voice full of sympathy before turning to his oyabun, "He hasn't understood yet…"

"Understood what?!"

"You're a superhuman too, Azumane. Why do you think so many people love your pastries?" Sakusa said in a calm, but cold voice.

"My superhuman power is being a good baker?!" He exclaimed, stunned.

"Your superhuman power is  _unknown_. But it seems to influence people's moods… or their  _will_  or  _sanity_." Sakusa continued, his voice sweet and posed like a snake about to attack, "Over the last month and a half, over twenty people have died. Fight gone wrong, suicides, mysterious circumstances… Three of them were our men, which is how we found out about you. The one and only common point about all these people? They regularly went to your bakery."

Asahi's eyes opened even wider, filled with fear and guilt of the unknown. He… he hadn't killed these people, had he? It meant nothing, coincidences…! Nothing else!

"I-I haven't done anything wrong, ever, in my life! I swear!" He exclaimed, more tears filling his eyes, "Except maybe the one time I got a fine for driving too fast and that one time I didn't run fast enough to bring an injured kitten to the veterinary– but other than that, I've always been a good person! I would never injure anyone!  _I swear!"_

Sakusa and Komori glanced at each other, weirded out by his pure soul.

"Azumane, we  _know_  you're not yakuza-material… But it doesn't mean a change of pace wouldn't hurt you, you know," Komori said with a convincing expression on his face, "You already have the looks for it. You just need to… toughen up, y'know."

"I look like a shady criminal…?!" He cried out.

Sakusa rolled his eyes while Komori was unsure of how to behave. He was frightened enough as it was and with such a sweet soul, it would be impossible to use threats to get answers or anything from him. They needed to soothe him and have him see things their way. They hoped his superhuman power wasn't influencing their mood though, or it'd be difficult to get anything done by the end of the night.

"Like I said, our business is very normal and we don't hurt people."

"You kidnapped me!"

"But we didn't hurt you."

"You hurt my feelings!"

"The point  _is_ ," Sakusa intervened in an impatient voice, "we just want to ask you some questions, give you some suggestions, and  _then_ …"

"T-then you'll let me go? I'll never tell anyone about this, I swear! I'll be mute as a tomb!" Asahi exclaimed, extremely convincing despite his current state of mind.

The two yakuza glanced at each other, Komori looking almost amused with their new toy.

"I don't doubt you. You're such a good guy. You would never tell anyone, would you?" He said with a wide smirk that hid their true plans of Asahi's future.

But the baker was too innocent to catch onto the hidden threat and nodded vividly to convince them of his good will. The worst part? They knew that he was honest and would keep his word. But they couldn't take any risk.

"All right! More questions! As we told you, you are a superhuman – do you know any personally?" Komori continued while Sakusa went to lean against a table, observing the baker's behaviour closely.

"What?! No! Never! I don't know anyone like that!"

"If you did, would you tell us their identity?"

"No! You would hurt them!" He exclaimed, shaking his head, "I-I don't know anything about superhumans, except what they say on tv… I-I didn't even know I… did I really kill these people…?" He asked, his voice strangling on his sobs.

"It doesn't matter. They're dead now."

"But if I have a power and it did  _this_ –"

"Asahi, you want to get out of here, right?" Komori said, growing impatient, "Then answer our questions."

Tears of absolute fear rolled down Asahi's cheeks as he understood that… they had no intention on letting him leave here on his own, or with a beating heart…

"Two men and a journalist visited you today at your bakery. Have you seen them before?"

The baker shook his head, sniffing miserably.

"Answer me, don't cry. Just give me the answer." Komori continued.

But Asahi hiccupped, shaking his head, drowning in tears and fright. Suddenly, something sharp hit his head so violently, he would have fallen off the chair if it weren't for the plastic handcuffs holding him in place. He gasped, a burning sensation on his cheek and against his chest. He looked down, and saw a deep cut and blood seeping through his clothes. The warm liquid was rolling down his face and onto his chin.

He looked up again, the fear for his life replaced by the fear of pain.

"He asked you a question politely. I am not nearly as polite as my friend. So  _answer_." Sakusa said – but he hadn't moved an inch from the table he was leaning on, and yet, he had managed to hit Asahi from that distance.

"So," Komori continued with a sweet smile that turned the baker's blood to ice, "Two men and a journalist. They visited your bakery, didn't they? The two men had very strange hair, one had white and black hair; the journalist had glasses. They were in tow."

"O-oh… I-I had never seen them… before today…" Asahi answered, eyes shining from the tears and the truth.

"Did they give you their identities?"

"O-only the journalist… He gave me his card… the two others, I don't know anything about them… I didn't even know they were acquainted!"

Komori and Sakusa glanced at each other, communicating silently. Komori was about to ask Asahi another question, but a commotion was heard through the door. Once again, the two yakuza shared a look just as screams echoed.

Asahi felt his blood leave his face. He would collapse at this rate, with all these emotions. He couldn't handle being kidnapped by superhuman yakuza…! It was too much for his nerves…!

Sakusa gave a sharp nod towards his partner and Komori exited the door. He was immediately thrown towards the ceiling with a strangled scream. Sakusa straightened up suddenly just as Nite Owl appeared in the doorway.

"Nite Owl… I should have expected you to show up at some point to ruin my plans…" He hissed, glaring at the hero.

"Actually, my amazing sidekick is the one who found out everything about you! You just ended up kidnapping the wrong guy at the wrong time!"

Asahi sniffled, eyes teary and full of hope now that the city's hero had showed up to save him.

Sakusa narrowed his eyes at Nite Owl, then lifted up his chin, unimpressed by his powers or the fame he had gotten due to his hero work.

Nite Owl suddenly jumped after the oyabun, aiming to knock him out with one punch. He was fast enough to avoid the hero's fist and answered with several punches to his sides that made Nite Owl's eyes widen slightly just as the kumichou of the Itachiyama-gumi jumped backwards. The exchange had lasted just two seconds.

"You're a superhuman, uh?" Nite Owl realised, frowning lightly, "And you are using these powers to kidnap people and commit crimes, tch…"

"Don't be ridiculous. Kidnapping people is below me. My  _men_  do it for me. As for committing crimes, I've always done that. These powers just made it  _easier_." Sakusa answered with his lips tilted upwards.

Keeping his hands out and tight as if he were a lion trying to unsheathe his claws, he lifted up his hands. Without moving from his spot, he slashed through the air. Nite Owl gasped when he felt a strong, stinging pain clash across his chest. He stepped away quickly and put his free hand over his chest. There was nothing. He had attacked the air and yet, he was now covered in large slashes similar to claw marks.

"Why do they always slash through everything?" He mumbled to himself.

He jumped back once again when Sakusa attacked him once more without moving from his defensive and distanced position. Nite Owl lifted up his shield and grunted when the hit almost made him shake. It was powerful and strange. He glanced at his shield, now covered in scratches across its entire length. He had noticed a two seconds lag – the time it took for the invisible claws to cut through the air.

"Great," he muttered.

Whatever power this was, it was like giant claws shooting through the air and were just as dangerous as Lev's paws, if not more.

He glanced at Asahi, who was crying, attached to his chair. He had to get Sakusa away from the victim before he uses him against the hero.

"Honestly, I thought a yakuza boss would have more impressive powers," Nite Owl continued, stepping away when the superhuman walked towards him slowly.

Calmly, he raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the scorn.

"Don't you know? The yakuza isn't about individual strength. It's about teamwork." He said with a light shrug.

Nite Owl frowned just as strong arms surrounded him from behind, trapping his own arms against his sides. The yakuza from earlier, probably the wakagashira, the boss' right hand, that he had thrown in the air! He had forgotten about him! Nite Owl almost dropped his shield, now useless against his side, just as Sakusa's arm was about to slash through the air. Acting fast, Nite Owl lifted up his legs, which unbalanced Komori because of the sudden weight. Then Nite Owl kicked the ground, bending forward just as Sakusa's arm moved, too fast to stop his attack. Komori cried out, leaping over Nite Owl and becoming his shield from the invisible claws that slashed through his back.

"AAAH!" He shouted, falling on his knees.

"Komori!" Sakusa exclaimed, turning furious eyes towards Nite Owl.

The hero had already grabbed a device from his tool belt and threw it on the ground. It exploded into a cloud of smoke that blinded the two yakuza. Running through the smoke, Nite Owl punched Sakusa who fell against the closest wall, hitting his head. The hero arrived by Asahi's side, the poor baker coughing his lungs out because of the smoke. With his shield as a weapon, he destroyed the plastic handcuff, the man almost falling forward with a gasp. Without giving him a moment to think, Nite Owl threw him over his shoulder and ran away from the smoke and through the abandoned facility.

"Hold on tight!" He exclaimed.

Asahi cried out as Nite Owl ran out the back door. The two yakuza Little Giant had knocked out earlier were still unconscious as he set down the baker, who was breathing heavily, eyes wide in terror.

"You okay?" Nite Owl asked, kneeling in front of him.

"I… I…!"

"You're not dying. That's great! Little Giant, report!" He ordered, leaning his head slightly to listen to his words.

" _Everyone on this side is down and I'm tying them up with rope! How is the baker?"_

"He's safe with me. BB-5?"

" _I called the police a few minutes ago. They're almost there."_

"Little Giant, come get Asahi and bring him to the front to wait for help to come."

" _Okay!"_

"W-wait! W-where are you going?" Asahi asked when he saw Nite Owl stand up, "D-don't leave me alone, p-lease!"

Just then a trail of dust showed Little Giant who approached with a proud smile.

"Asahi-san? I'm Little Giant! I'll escort you away from here!" He said, giving him his hand.

"You're safe with him, I just need to tie up the Yakuza boss and his right-hand who were interrogating you earlier," Nite Owl said.

Asahi didn't say anything, still pale and shaky, and Nite Owl went back into the hell-place.

He quickly found the spot where he had left them. The chair was still there and so was the smoke from the smoke bomb he had used to distract them… But the two men were gone. Keeping his lips thin, he walked through the entire building, but only found all the members that were tied up by Little Giant. Just as he was stepping out the front door, he saw a car suddenly drive away on the road. He clicked his tongue. It was already too far away to catch up to it.

"Damn it…" He mumbled.

In the car that was getting away, Sakusa massaged his jaw, glaring from over his shoulder at the superhero who had ruined his night. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, his attention was back on Komori who was suffering from the injuries he had involuntarily given him.

"Rest, get into your other shape, Komori," he told him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Sakusa took out a bamboo segment from his pocket. Komori glanced at it and with a light whooshing sound, he shrunk down and into the hollow wood. In this form, he won't feel as much pain as in his human form.

"Nite Owl, I'll be your undoing…" Sakusa hissed, promising to the rising sun in the distance that he would destroy the hero with his own two hands.

Back at the yakuza hideout, several police cars arrived, and they exchanged a word with Nite Owl and Little Giant who gave them a USB drive with all the evidence they had gathered about the Weasels. The police were told of the two who had escaped and their base. After having interrogated Asahi, they forgot about him in a car, covered in blankets. He was dozing off when Nite Owl and Little Giant approached him.

"Hey, you okay, big guy?" Nite Owl asked.

"I could be dead, so I'd say I'm fine at the moment… It's a very nice feeling, still being alive…" Asahi said in a surprisingly quiet voice.

He stared behind the two heroes and they followed his gaze, seeing the sky a light orange from the rising sun.

"Thank you for saving my life, both of you," he told them, standing up on shaky legs.

"Hey, anytime! It's our job! Well, avoid getting kidnapped again by the yakuza. It's probably better for your health!" Nite Owl said, patting his shoulder.

"…D-do I know you? You seem… you  _sound_  familiar… Have I met you somewhere?" Asahi asked, staring firmly at Nite Owl.

He startled and looked away, suddenly stiff and uncomfortable. Little Giant glanced up at him in panic, unable to say anything.

"U-um… Uh! G-good question! I… uh… ah ah…"

A memory from the previous day suddenly popped into Asahi's head.

"What… what's your favourite flavour? For pastries?" He asked.

"Vanilla!" He answered instantly.

Nite Owl stared back at Asahi who opened and closed his lips, understanding that he had probably figured it out.

"But any flavour is nice, honestly… lemon and lavender? That sounds awesome too." He continued in a light voice.

"O-oh… t-then…" Asahi continued, turning towards Little Giant, "A-and you? What about orange and cinnamon?"

"That sounds awesome! Are you going to make pastries inspired by us?! This is so cool! What's cinnamon?"

"It's… um…"

He looked back, helpless and a little confused, towards Nite Owl who put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, we have to go, but… we have a friend who might be able to help you with, y'know…"

He wiggled his fingers as a metaphor for superhuman powers.

"If you  _do_  need our help, you know what to do, right?"

Asahi swallowed hard, and nodded wordlessly.

"Right! Let's go then! Little Giant, you ready?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to taste that pastry!"

"Yeah, me too!"

Asahi watched them walk away and drive off into the sunrise… Even if he was still scared because of the events of the previous night, he was even more in awe with his heroes and what they had done to save him from superhuman yakuza.

_A few days later, at the Nest…_

"All right! I know what's your power! Probably!" Kuroo exclaimed, coming out of his lab with a bunch of papers in his hand.

"Probably?" Asahi repeated, confused.

"He is very good at what he does, most of the time. So don't worry!" Lev said with an encouraging smile.

A few days after the events of the kidnapping, now certain he was off the yakuza's list of victims, and because he was haunted by what he had learned, Asahi had called Tsukishima. He had been given his card and after a quick talk, they decided to trust the baker and bring him to the Nest. Kuroo ran a bunch of tests and exams on Asahi to go with what he had previously found on the pastries.

"You're a walking stick of pheromones," Kuroo told him with a big smile, relieved that there  _was_  an explanation to his strange behaviour with Akane a few days ago.

" _I'm a what?"_  Asahi asked, tearing up.

"W-wait! Calm down! I'm gonna explain!" Kuroo exclaimed, "Every human has certain amounts of chemicals. Like dopamine or PEA, or for the nerds like me,  _phenylethylamine_ , a chemical neurotransmitter that at low levels, makes us feel euphoric. It's what causes the excitement you feel when you fall in love with someone, for example. At higher levels, it can cause paranoia."

He paused, shaking the papers with all the results on them once again.

"You, Asahi-san, have an  _enormous_  level of dopamine and PEA, but it's not really  _in_  you – but all around. I think your emotions produce and make your hormones emanate from your body, and end up infiltrating  _everything_ , including your pastries."

"Am I poisoning people…?!"

"No, no, no! It's perfectly safe! On a low level, but… it's not the  _only_  hormonal change your body went through when you became a superhuman. The level of PEA is controlled by an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase, or MAO. MAO type B deactivates dopamine and PEA. MAO itself is controlled by progesterone and dihydro-testosterone, which suppresses type B activity and therefore increases the biological level of PEA. You have a high level of PEA, mixed with a high level of dihydro-testosterone and progesterone, and practically non-existent type B MAO." Kuroo concluded with a shrug, as if it made any sense.

Asahi stared at him, mouth hanging open, then he glanced at the rest of the hero team. Everyone looked just as confused as he was.

"…Could you repeat all that… but  _slowly?"_  Bokuto asked, as if it'd help him understand what was going on.

Kuroo sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You have a lot of hormones coming out of your body and nothing to suppress it. You're a walking stick of pheromones," he said, sounding annoyed that his entire explanation had been reduced to such a simple sentence because of these idiots.

"Aaaaah!" They all exclaimed, finally understanding.

"But why did it kill people? Hormones are nice, aren't they?" Lev asked, sniffing the air once again (he  _adored_  Asahi's scent).

"On low levels, yeah, but on higher levels, it can cause paranoia, violent reactions… By constantly consuming your pastries  _and_  regular exposure to your body, some people ended up getting… drunk and heavily affected by an overdose of these hormones. This is why most of the murders who were linked to you ended up being violent fights that ended badly, jealous couples, passionate murders…" Kuroo explained, thinking back on the murder case that had led to his suspicions about the baker.

"S-so… I… I really did kill these people…" Asahi whispered, eyes tearing up.

"Hey, it's not your fault. They were affected by hormones, you didn't have any control on that, it wasn't your fault," Kuroo said.

"But it's  _my_  fault all these hormones affected these people! If it weren't for me…!"

"Calm down, Asahi-san," Lev said with a smile, "I like your hormones! And I love your pastries! And it's what most people think, right? The people who died only acted the way they did because they couldn't think straight, not because you had told them to do such things! There are so many, much more terrible people! Don't feel guilty for crimes you haven't committed!"

Asahi stared at the were-lion who smiled broadly. Hinata quickly spoke up too.

"Lev's right! Maybe these people died because of a number of other reasons that had nothing to do with the hormones you release… and how many people did you make happy with your pastries because of the same hormones? What about people who are very sad, but smile thanks to your bakery? What about people who find comfort in your pastries? For all these people… you're a hero!"

The baker's eyes filled with tears, his heart beating stronger, and everyone felt the sudden wave of hormones that came off of him. They felt dizzy for a moment, but couldn't help but smile and sigh.

"Yep,  _definitely_  a good feeling…" Kuroo sighed, "And nothing  _personal_ , only… hormones, chemistry, stuff science can explain."

Asahi choked, being comforted by Lev and Hinata, and after a few minutes, he finally wiped his eyes and looked up helplessly at  _his_  heroes.

"B-but… what can I do to stop it? It's dangerous… but I-I can't control the hormones my body creates, right?" Asahi asked, lips shaking as he looked down as his hands.

"Nope, but science exists and is super cool.. Kuroo said, proudly pulling out a little box from his pocket. "I made a product that might be able to stabilize your production of hormones. You will still create more than an average human, but it might be enough to not affect others as much. You just need to inject yourself once a day."

Asahi swallowed hard, not a big fan of needles, but if it meant keeping people from becoming psycho killers because of an overdose of his hormones… then he'll get used to it.

"T-thank you… thank you so much!" He exclaimed.

"Come on, I'll show you how to do the injection." Kuroo said, patting his shoulder.

After showing him how to do the injection, Asahi did the first one. He didn't feel any change in himself, and there wasn't a big change in the atmosphere, but they all hoped it'll work.

"I made some pastries to thank you, and I'd love to have your opinions," he said, bringing out a box.

"Ooooh!" Hinata and Lev exclaimed.

Asahi opened the box and showed beautiful pastries, all shaped like Nite Owl and the Little Giant.

"Oooh! The pastries you promised us! Is mine cinnamon and orange?!"

"Yes, and for Nite Owl… I chose vanilla and lavender. If I have your permission, I'll start selling them next week."

Curiously, Bokuto went to pick up one of the Nite Owl pastry. He bit into it and felt tears well up in his eyes.

"I-is it bad? Is it that bad?!" Asahi asked, panicking.

"Ah! No, no, not at all! It just…"

He smiled sadly, looking down at the pastry in his hand, not really aware of the rest of the team staring at him worriedly.

"It just reminded me of great memories… I love it."

"O-oh…"

"OOOOH! MINE IS SO TASTY! I LOVE IT!" Hinata exclaimed, jumping up and down, "Kenma! Taste it, taste it!"

"Eeeh… it's not bad…"

"Oh, I love the Little Giant one!" Lev exclaimed, "OOOh! But the Nite Owl one is so great too!" He continued, holding up two pastries, unable to choose a favourite.

Akaashi blinked when he tasted the Nite Owl pastry, then he glanced at his friend who had walked away to sit down in a chair. He approached him, worried by the reaction he had had earlier.

"Why did you react like that? I've never seen you so emotional just eating a pastry… even though you  _have_  shed tears while eating hamburgers when you were particularly hungry."

"O-oh… It must be the hormones, then! That's it, it's… it's the love hormones…"

Akaashi's eyes widened.

"Is it… about  _her?"_

Bokuto kept his lips thin, and after a long moment, he nodded.

"I wonder how…"

His voice broke and he shook his head, suddenly standing up and putting a smile on his face.

"Well! We have different lives now! It's not like I'll ever see her again, so…"

"You know I can–"

"Hey hey! Kuroo! Is there more of that Little Giant pastry?" Bokuto exclaimed, ignoring his friend.

"Nah, we ate it all!"

"OI! No fair! I haven't tasted it yet!"

"You should have been faster instead of moping in a corner like that!"

"GEH!"

Now with a solution to his superhuman powers, Asahi returned to his bakery with a smile on his face. Bokuto and Kuroo watched him from afar as he opened the store and quickly, clients came in, all coming out with smiles on their faces.

"Do you think it's going to affect his business?" Kuroo asked out loud.

Bokuto smiled, arms crossed over his chest in a proud manner.

"Nah, people don't go there because of these hormones. They've always loved his pastries, because Asahi loves pastries and seeing people's smiles. Like Hinata said… he's everyone's hero, on an everyday basis, saving them from their bad moods and sad mornings."

Kuroo smiled back, but his mind drifted away, and after saying goodbye to his friend, he ended up going back to the Miyagi Police Station. It was almost night when he went there to finish writing some report. He couldn't take the risk of sharing what he knew about Asahi and why their colleague had killed his wife, then killed himself… The case was closed now, anyway.

Someone suddenly walking in had him look up, and both Tetsurou and Akane froze, staring at each other. They hadn't been alone since what happened a few days ago… He quickly averted his gaze, cheeks turning red and she hurried towards her desk, looking for something. She was wearing a pretty dress and high-heels. Was she going on a date?

"Hey…" he spoke up when she was about to head out. "I'm… I'm sorry for what I said… and did the other day… I acted like an idiot. It was…  _hormones_ … I guess." He mumbled, unable to meet her eyes.

"Y-yeah… me too… it was…"

She sighed deeply and they glanced at each other before looking away. He passed a hand behind his neck, feeling awkward and uncomfortable.

"Look, I…"

He looked up, hopeful, when she spoke up again, but she looked… determined. Sad, but determined.

"I'm moving on. I can't keep holding onto… what we once had. I want to make a life with someone and… it won't be you, Tets–  _Kuroo_. You should forget about me too… Let's stop holding onto…  _that_."

Her voice broke on the last word and she looked down.

"S-sure," he said, throat feeling tight and his heart like stone. "I think so too. It's best if we… if we don't let our past together affect our work."

"Exactly, this is… this is for the best."

"Yeah, it is… it's for the best."

They stared at each other, then Akane left suddenly. Tetsurou let his head fall into his arms, cursing himself a thousand times over.

"Why… why you idiot… why didn't you say you were still in love with her and you wanted to try again…?! Why did you agree with her…?!" He mumbled, voice muffled because his lips were pressed against his desk.

He straightened up, staring at the ceiling, and took a deep breath to chase away the stinging in his eyes. He was fine, it'll be fine. He could handle… whatever would happen. And it was exactly what Akane had told him several times over the years, every time she had her "important" relationship fall apart. Whatever… whatever, it didn't affect him anyway… he didn't care… not really…

Sniffing, he printed his report and left it on Daichi's desk, not even reacting to his worried glances. Then, he left, determined to go to a bar and distract himself, maybe even meet the love of his life there.

Tetsurou stopped abruptly when he saw, through the window of the bar, Akane and Semi talking to each other. They were both smiling, talking enthusiastically… and she laughed. He hadn't heard her laugh in years.

Burning tears filled his eyes and slowly, with shaky hands, he took out his wallet. He knew exactly where to find the folded photograph of him and Akane from years ago. She was laughing and she was beautiful. His heart squeezed painfully.

" _We had our chance, Tetsurou…"_  She had told him a few days ago.

He had held onto it for years… and unable to look again at Akane laughing with that Shiratorizawa guy, he dropped the picture and buried his hands in his pockets, lowering his head. Rain started to fall, hiding his tears, and ruining the picture and the feelings he had held onto for years.

Love hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post the next chapter, with Hoshiumi Kourai in it, as soon as possible!
> 
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think! :D
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	11. Jaws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for posting this chapter so late, but my beta-reader was busy, and we changed, and I was busy too (still am) but it IS here! I want to thank my new beta-reader for her work!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who kudo'ed or bookmarked this story!

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER XI : Jaws

" _No man can win every battle, but no man should fall without a struggle."_

–  **Peter Parker**

_The night of the meteor…_

Hoshiumi Kourai whistled while he finished cutting the various fish and squids that would feed the sharks. He put all the food into the different plastic boxes with the animals' names written on it.

"Hey, I'm hungry, wanna go get something to eat?" His colleague, Watanabe, asked.

"Nah, I'm fine. I need to feed the sharks anyway," he answered, pointing at all the plastic boxes.

"Okay! I'll take a turn preparing the food for the octopuses then."

He left and Hoshiumi finished his preparations while listening to music. He put all the boxes on a big tray, and he brought it to the sharks' hole. As an animal caretaker of the Shinagawa Aquarium, he could see the animals from above as they swam without a care in the world. He loved watching the fishes, the mantas, the dolphins or sharks living without even realizing they were stuck into a giant glass bowl. It was peaceful. All these sea animals swimming in this dream painted blue. It was his favourite part of the job, watching them swim like this.

He took the grabber stick they were using to feed the sharks, who were trained to react to certain signs and panels plunged into the water.

He had already fed three sharks when he felt a light tremble all around him and the lights flickered. Taking off his headphones, he looked up and around. One of his kouhai, Miura, was filing papers in a corner of the room but he hadn't seemed to notice anything. Hoshiumi shrugged and took more fish with the grabber stick when the water splashed. He narrowed his eyes, watching the water.

The sharks and fish were agitated for no reason. He put everything down and took his talkie-walkie out to contact his colleague.

"Hey, Watanabe? There's something weird happening in the sharks' hole. Do you mind coming over?" He asked.

Only static answered him, and he frowned.

"Oi, Watanabe? Can you hear me?" He asked.

There was no answer on the other side of the line.

Suddenly, the animals in the sharks' hole grew even more frantic. The fish and sharks were jumping out of the water and falling back into it.

"What's going on?" Miura asked from afar.

"I don't know, I've never seen them act like that!"

The sounds were starting to be too loud for comfort, echoing painfully into the big room. Hoshiumi leaned forward, observing closely. The fish and shark weren't attacking each other, but they were swimming in such a panic that they kept hitting each other. Some fish were floating at the surface, killed by the frenetic movement of their tankmates.

"What the…"

The lights flickered again and the building vibrated. The balance on the metallic bridges and pathways seemed fragile and Hoshiumi quickly backed away. Fish started jumping out of the water and onto the floor.

"Quick! Throw them back into the water!" He ordered to his young colleague, who was as stunned as he was.

They started grabbing the fish that were spasming on the floor, throwing them back into the water as more and more of them tried to escape.

"WATCH OUT!" Hoshiumi shouted, pushing his colleague out of the way when a  _shark_  jumped out of the water.

They both fell and moved back as they saw the shark thrashing on the ground, opening and closing his powerful jaws. But he hadn't jumped far onto the ground and he eventually slid back into the water.

"What's going on?!"

"I don't know!"

Hoshiumi wasn't sure what to do until the animals calmed down. The lights kept flickering and the ceiling groaned, as if under immense pressure. Even when there were typhoons, there had never been such a thing, so  _what_  was happening?!

"Watch out!" Miura cried out, suddenly pushing him away.

Ceiling lights suddenly fell down right where Hoshiumi and Miura had been standing a moment ago. Everything seemed to calm down after that, despite the agitation from the animals.

Just as Hoshiumi turned to thank Miura for saving his life, a violent and sudden earthquake hit the building. Hoshiumi gasped, falling against the metallic railing that didn't hold up. He fell into the water.

"Hoshiumi-senpai!" Miura shouted when he saw him disappear into the water.

Hoshiumi swam, frightened. He immediately started swimming upwards just as he felt some sort of powerful wave through the water. It made him gasp and water filled his lungs. He moved his arms, panicking. A great white shark swam straight at him, opening his jaws wide. The sharp teeth were the last thing Kourai saw, then  _nothing_.

_Nowadays…_

Tooru was whistling as he walked down the stairs leading into the Karasuno bar. There were a few customers, two he knew and saluted as he sat at the counter where Ukai joined him.

"Someone's in a very good mood," he commented with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Mmm~! I  _am_  in a good mood~! I'll take the usual, please." Oikawa answered with a satisfied smile.

As Ukai prepared the Fashionable Manhattan, he continued speaking with a knowing look on his face.

"You've been in a good mood very often lately. Is it because of the lovely lady from the other day? Hanae-chan?"

"I have met her a few times, indeed." He answered, tilting up his chin, almost proudly.

" _Only_  a few times? And you're already  _this_  infatuated with her?" Ukai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh! It's not just silly attraction, and we are taking our sweet time discovering each other!"

"Oh, so you're serious about this relationship?"

Tooru flinched, the reaction barely perceptible, just as the cocktail was presented to him. His friend was staring at him, waiting for the answer, genuinely curious.

"It's… a strong friendship, but not a relationship like you might think. But… I  _am_  serious. As serious as I can be…" He answered in a hushed voice, stirring the drink's little umbrella absentmindedly.

"Great for you, then! I'm glad you're finally opening up and getting attached to someone. It's about time you get settled, old boy!"

"Oi! Who do you call old?!" He exclaimed, getting offended, "I am only thirty years old, with many, many,  _youthful_  years still ahead of me!"

"Well, isn't Iwaizumi about–"

Ukai's voice stopped when he remembered that Iwaizumi's fiancée had been gone for three months now…

Oikawa knew what he had been about to say and took a first, bitter sip of his drink. He tried to hide his wince, but it didn't escape the bartender.

"The first sip of alcohol is always the most bitter." He said, "Like most things in life…"

"Y'know what I like most about your bar, Keishin-san? We get free and inspirational lessons. You'd make a great life coach."

"It's  _not_  free, it's included in the  _tips_ , which you never leave, by the way." Ukai remarked, "And I thought you liked my bar because you get access to an extended network of information. Which reminds me…"

He grabbed two big envelops from under his counter and gave it to the private investigator, who quickly opened the first one.

"It's the information that you had asked me for. And… I got that one too."

He pushed forward the second envelop and, curious, Tooru took it.

"It's a request, all the information about the client are on the page, but he'd prefer to remain anonymous for now."

The name he read wasn't new to the private investigator. It was a man with a shady business but he mostly knew him for having a fascination about aliens. Tooru had actually tried to get in touch with the man before to try and find out what he knew about aliens, but it was almost impossible. It was a golden chance!

Then, he took out the grainy photographs that were in the envelope and his eyes widened. It was very bad quality, but he could see a humanoid figure coming out of the water, with the top of his body strangely shaped, like a giant fish or– a shark!

Tooru looked back at the paper, the client asking him to track this creature so he could have it captured. Of course, he'd want this creature, it looked like an alien! Tooru himself wanted to meet and know more about this alien– but he remembered the world they were now living in. An alien, or a  _superhuman?_

"You can tell him I'm taking this job," he told Ukai who nodded absentmindedly.

_At the Miyagi Police Station…_

Akane arrived late, which was unusual enough that everyone glanced at her curiously.

"Sorry for being late." She said, quickly setting up her desk.

Tetsurou's eyes were burning into her back, knowing perfectly well  _why_  she was late to work. He was willing to bet that  _Semi Eita_  had been late too. He quickly averted his eyes, and focused on his report.

"Hey, Akane," Yakkun spoke up, "Sao sent us up some weird things from that body found in the alley. She wants us to figure out where it came from."

She raised an eyebrow as he gave her a plastic sample bag. Its contents made her blink.

"No need for that, it's just a shark tooth. It must have fallen off a necklace or something." She answered sarcastically, sending it back to the young man, who didn't look amused.

"Which is what  _we_  are also capable of deducing, but that tooth was found  _in_  the body." Yakkun continued.

She frowned at him and he continued:

"The body had a wide wound all over his torso, like he had been eaten, y'know? We had initially thought it was some wild beast like that lion that was captured by Nite Owl but then, she found these two teeth during the autopsy."

Kuroo had looked up when he heard Lev mentioned. The werelion had been adopted by Nite Owl at this point. No one else knew that the huge lion could turn into a man and was actually a pretty chill and joyful guy, if not with some missing neurons.

Could it be another were-animal attacking people?

"Hey," he called, attracting their attention at once, "What sort of teeth is that?"

Yaku threw the sample packet to their head scientist and Kuroo examined the two teeth. They looked like normal shark teeth…

"Could you get me the file from that murder?" Kuroo asked.

"Why are you interested in these?" Akane asked, frowning suspiciously.

Kuroo startled, trying to hide why he would be interested in that case–

"J-just… um… because, uh…"

"It could be another superhuman," Yaku suggested, then he turned towards Kuroo. "That's what you're thinking too, right?"

"U-uh, yeah…"

Akane still stared at Tetsurou, as if she could see right through his lies.

"…You've been looking into a lot of random files recently, Kuroo. Most of them linked to possible or confirmed superhumans. Are you hiding something from us?"

He froze and felt his body heat up under the weight of her reddish-brown gaze. He was desperately trying to find a good excuse, but he could only grasp smoke.

Akane saw right through him and understood that he  _was_  hiding something. She tightened her lips, worried about whatever mess he had gotten himself into.

"Kuroo is incapable of hiding anything from us, he's a terrible liar!" Yaku exclaimed with a laugh.

Kuroo paled and Akane sent him an unimpressed look, as if telling him  _"yeah, and he is lying right now, dumbass"_  but he continued, unfazed by her sharp eyes.

"He's probably just very worried about all these superhumans and the threat they pose to society. I've been looking into a lot of weird files too, just to know what to expect."

Yaku turned towards Tetsurou who reacted a second too late for Akane's taste.

"Y-yeah! T-that's exactly what's happening! I'm freaking out a little a-and, y'know… as head scientist of this lab… of a Police Station involved directly with the Shiratorizawa Special Force… I need to know as much as possible about these… superhumans…"

Akane didn't seem convinced, but Tetsurou threw the sample bag back to them and quickly went back to work.

"Might be some accessory that got into the mess of flesh during the attack, but better safe than sorry. You should check and try to find whatever you can about these teeth." He said, unable to look at her.

She discreetly clicked her tongue and started her day of work.

At lunch, the three friends, joined by Kai, went to the cafeteria of the Police Station, where most of their colleagues were eating. They sat down to a table and started eating the food they had brought with them, or in Yaku and Kai's cases, what their lovely wives had made for them. They talked enthusiastically about some investigation that neither Kuroo nor Akane knew about so they ended up glancing at each other and then focusing on their bento boxes to avoid staring for too long.

"Ah! Semi-san!" Yaku suddenly called, "Won't you join us for lunch?" He addressed this to the group of men from the Shiratorizawa Special Force.

Akane looked up and shared a smile with Semi while Kuroo brought his water bottle to his lips to distract himself. Semi was the only one on the SSF with some scientific background, which was why he was the link between Kuroo's lab research and whatever the SSF would need from them… and the reason why he was so close with Akane, and pretty much everyone else on the scientist team.

"Thank you, I didn't even notice you there." He answered as Semi, Goshiki, and Shirabu sat down slowly.

They looked exhausted, with dark bags under their eyes and they didn't seem hungry. They were yawing more than eating.

"You three look like you need a good cup of coffee," Kai commented.

"Or ten," Shirabu grumbled, glaring at his plate of food.

"We spent all of yesterday and last night on the field, we just came back," Goshiki answered. "The others are still wrapping up…"

Kuroo looked between Semi and Akane, realizing that they hadn't spent the night together. He hated the relief that hit him like a train.

"O-oh, you were out… all night?  _All_  of Shiratorizawa?" He said, his voice sounding unnatural, but no one seemed to catch on it.

"Yeah, General Washijou wants us to be more effective…"

"More effective? What does he mean exactly by that?" Akane asked, frowning lightly.

Semi hesitated, as if he had realised that he had said something he shouldn't have. He opened his lips to answer just as someone wearing Shiratorizawa's purple colours came directly to them.

"Captain Semi! Captain Shirabu! First lieutenant Goshiki! The Major General Ushijima is asking for you, another mission!"

" _Now?"_

"Yes, sir!"

"These damn superhumans won't even let us get a proper lunch…" Shirabu mumbled, all three getting up to obey the orders.

"As soon as order isback, we'll have a tranquil life," Goshiki said, staying positive no matter what.

Shirabu didn't seem convinced. They looked down at the trays of food they were about to throw away.

"If I had known, I would have taken something we can bring with us…" Goshiki said, frowning at the idea of wasting food, and he was  _famished_.

Kuroo looked down at his well wrapped onigiri…

"Here, take those… I'm not really hungry," he said, passing them the food.

"Wha-  _really?!"_  Goshiki exclaimed.

"Yeah, you need it more than me," he answered with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Kuroo-san!"

Shirabu and Semi nodded to him with grateful smiles as they followed the young man for their next mission.

"I thought you didn't like them?" Yaku asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"…I  _don't_ , but they're just doing their jobs… like us, I guess." He answered with a shrug, "And I really don't feel hungry… I think I'll go back to the lab and see if the analyses are done."

Before they could answer, Kuroo stood up, grabbing what was left of his lunch and leaving the cafeteria. As expected he found the analyses he had started earlier done. He started reading the results, but was distracted by a beeping sound coming from Akane's desk, no matter how he tried to focus on his own work.

He glanced over his shoulder and, seeing no one around, walked to her desk. It was the results of the shark tooth analysis. It was identified as a shark DNA… but there was also some human DNA. It could be the victim's. Kuroo leaned forward, typing some formulas to get to the part of the DNA he knew carried the superhuman gene.

He wasn't even surprised to realise that this shark tooth  _did_  belong to a superhuman.

 _A were-shark, then?_  He thought to himself.

"What are you doing at my desk?"

He jumped, letting out a strangled scream, and whipped around to see Akane glaring at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"I-I heard the beeping sound from the results, and I thought I'd check it out… Shark and human DNA." He answered with a shrug, playing it cool.

She was too curious about it to reconsider Kuroo's intentions as he walked back to his desk. She blinked when she noticed something unexpected in the DNA that made her open and close her mouth. Then she started going into older files with the DNA samples from acknowledged superhumans.

She was about to call Kuroo over, to share what she might have found something about the superhumans and how to track them, but she stopped herself.  _He_  had been looking right at this specific gene as if he  _knew_  what to look for. He was hiding something about the superhumans and that meteor, that was certain… but  _how_  was he involved?

She was about to print what she had found out to bring to Semi's team of scientists but, once again, she stopped herself. She liked him, he was a genuinely nice guy who enjoyed his work, and admired his colleagues. But she wasn't a fool and knew that the Shiratorizawa Special Force was also hiding something from the rest of the Police Station – and the rest of the world.

Instead, she stood up and grabbed a couple of files that were laying around and went to the floor below. The Shiratorizawa grounds were mostly empty and the few soldiers who were there didn't have a high enough rank to stop her. In the main lab, there were only two scientists brought here by the army. She couldn't enter without permission because a door pass was required but when they recognized her, they let her in. The red dot turned green and she pushed the glass-window door open.

"I'm bringing some files Semi-san had asked me the other day," she lied.

"Oh, thanks, we were waiting for those."

As the scientist checked the files, she glanced over his shoulder at his computer. She wasn't surprised he was doing some DNA tests… and the genes he was checking were the same she had found through Kuroo's snooping.

She turned back towards the scientist as he thanked her for the files. Then, she headed back to her usual lab, her head full of thoughts and theories.

Kuroo and the Shiratorizawa Special Force all knew how to recognize and find superhumans. They weren't connected in any way. If the SSF's interest could be explained because they had to catch the dangerous superhumans,  _what was Kuroo doing?_

Meanwhile, Oikawa Tooru was slowly but surely gathering information on the alien, or superhuman. After asking around and gaining access to video recordings, he managed to find a series of sightings and bodies found in very bad state, especially because of a prolonged time spent in water. It had started a couple of weeks after the meteor night – which was a clue towards the possibility of a superhuman. At first, the sightings had focused around the Tokyo special wards of Shingawa and Ota, then it had spread in all directions. It went all the way to the special ward of Minato in the North, the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama in the South, and now all the way to Funabashi and Chiba in the East. There was one more sighting at the other side of the Bay of Tokyo, at Sodegaura, and three missing people who, coincidentally had been working at the docks around the date they went missing. The bodies were essentially found in the water, in a bad state of decomposition, with parts of their bodies missing, cut off by some boat thrusters… or eaten.

Tooru spread a map out on a table and observed all the pins he had added: blue for the various sightings, and red for the bodies that might be linked to that superhuman.

A knock at the door made him look up and he wasn't surprised to see Iwaizumi come in, carrying some groceries.

"I saw the light and I figured you'd be home," he explained, approaching his friend and glancing curiously at the map, "New job?"

"Yeah, an alien sighting."

"Alien?" He repeated, unconvinced.

"Or superhuman, whatever you prefer. My theory is that superhumans are  _aliens_  who came here to invade us during that meteor night, and they are slowly but surely kidnapping people to study or use for experiments. Or maybe they are potential hosts for…"

His voice trailed off and he swallowed hard when he saw Iwaizumi's face darkening at the mention of the missing people.

"For their global invasion… or something…" He finished awkwardly.

Iwaizumi put down the bag of groceries and picked up a random file, grimacing at the pictures of the half eaten, mostly decomposed body.

"That alien of yours would have done that?"

"Most of the victims live or work near the water and I believe this alien is part-shark thanks to the pictures and videos of the few sightings. Also because two bodies out of the thirteen that were found so far were found with shark teeth in them. No analysis was made by the scientific team so I asked them if they could dig it up, but I haven't had any news yet. And as you can see with the blue pins, that alien is moving around very quickly, and I can't figure out where he's hiding or where he'll be next."

"Shark teeth, you say?" Iwaizumi repeated, remembering a conversation he had had with Sao about a half-eaten body that had been found in an alley the previous day, "Has there been any sighting or corpses  _in_  the cities?"

Oikawa blinked, surprised by this question.

"Only one sighting, two weeks ago near the Zoshiki Station on the Kenkyu line," he answered, pointing at the blue pin, "The corpses have all been near or in the water, so I haven't looked into the cities' murders much. Why? Do you know something?"

"Someone was found yesterday, part of his body eaten or destroyed by an unknown weapon. No sighting whatsoever but we found two shark teeth in his body. Akane and Yakkun ran some tests and found shark and human DNA."

"Shark and human DNA? Mixed together? Do you think this is how superhumans are made? Maybe the aliens are using animal DNA and mixing it with ours to turn humans into… these superhumans!" Oikawa theorized, suddenly encouraged.

"Not all superhumans have animal features though. Look at Nite Owl, even if he calls himself that… he's just a guy with super strength and whatnot." Iwaizumi commented.

"Right… but maybe it's animal strength, like a gorilla's, that– I'll try to find answers to my theories later! Right now, I need to look into the police files! Maybe there were bodies that I didn't connect to this investigation because they weren't found in water!"

He turned hopefully towards his friend. Iwaizumi sighed deeply, knowing very well what he wanted. As a police officer, he had access to most files. So he moved to his friend's computer and logged in like he often did for Oikawa's job. They usually asked permission from Daichi, but on a few occasions when people were in danger, they kept quiet until afterwards (and Daichi scolded them but let it go, because it might save people).

"These are all bodies that were found in the area of Tokyo and the Tokyo Bay that had a part of their bodies destroyed, with massive blood loss or missing limbs." Iwaizumi said.

There were a lot more dots on the virtual map than Oikawa would have liked to see Most of them probably had nothing to do with the superhuman, which meant regular people were just that terrible. He wasn't surprised, but it never ceased to hurt him to know so many atrocities were committed.

"The sightings only started after the meteor night, so can you change the settings for that?" Oikawa asked.

"I'm also taking away all the solved cases," Iwaizumi said.

He typed on the computer, and once he refreshed the search parameters, the screen uploaded again, showing only a dozen or so dots. Curiously, Iwaizumi typed "shark" to see if there was any mention of such things – half of these cases had had one or several shark teeth found near the body or crime scene.

"Oi oi… that thing really is moving a lot… How are you going to catch it? Should you even take such a risk if he can do this much damage? Look at these bodies…" Iwaizumi said, worried for his friend who had gotten himself into a very dangerous case –  _especially_  if it was a superhuman.

Oikawa didn't answer and took the computer, bringing it near the map laid out over his table. Iwaizumi followed him curiously as he traced circles around all the other cases that might be linked to his alien. They were all gathered in the neighbouring area between the Tama river and the heart of Minato special district.

"Your eyes are shining, it means you figured something out, huh?" Iwaizumi said after a glance at his friend.

"Don't tell me you don't see it, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa said in a slightly mocking voice.

He pouted and looked closer.

"Oi… you said this superhuman was related to sharks?" He asked, frowning.

"And the Shinagawa Aquarium is right in the middle." Oikawa finished with a proud smile.

He circled the Shinagawa Aquarium, already planning his visit there the following morning.

"All of the sightings were two or three days apart, the last one was two days ago near the Museum of Maritime Science. I'll go visit the Shinagawa Aquarium to see if there's something I could learn there…"

"…Be careful, okay? You don't know what to expect," Iwaizumi said.

"Quite the contrary, I know there's an alien sharing the DNA of a human and of a shark who likes eating people, he might appear there and I need to catch him."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Easy, like I'd catch any fish," Oikawa answered with a shrug, "I just need to attract him with a juicy bait."

Instead of explaining any further his plan, Oikawa turned around to make a phone call. Iwaizumi didn't like this in the slightest, but he knew his friend was too stubborn to listen to him.

The following day, Tooru drove to the Shinagawa Aquarium and with his pass as Private Investigator, he was allowed to go into the otherwise restricted areas of the aquarium. One of the aquarists, Watanabe, gave him a tour, explaining how they cared for each and every animal, especially the sharks. Tooru hadn't given any detail on his investigation, he had simply said that he was looking up on some accidents relating sharks.

"Did anything happen the night of the meteor, or around that time?" He finally asked while they were standing above the sharks' hole, watching the animals live their lives peacefully.

Watanabe's expression darkened at once, his body tensing. Tooru immediately knew something  _had_  happened.

"That night… yeah… the aquarium… wasn't too close to the meteor but we were hit pretty badly by the shockwaves. The animals were especially disturbed."

"I've heard that many animals panicked for hours during that night, indeed," Tooru answered, nodding seriously.

"…One of our guys… Hoshiumi Kourai…"

His voice broke a little and he blinked away tears.

"He fell into the water, right there," he said, pointing at where a new shining barrier was now standing, "Right into the sharks' hole… Any other time, the sharks wouldn't have touched him because they're fed but… we don't know what happened. Maybe because they were in such panic, they… attacked."

Tooru swallowed hard, feeling his blood run cold.

"You mean… he was… killed by the sharks? He  _was_ …"

"Eaten, yeah… Most of him anyway… I couldn't handle fishing out what was left of him…" He admitted, lowering his head.

"Was… I'm sorry for your loss. Did anything else happen after that?"

"No, not that I can think of," Watanabe answered before hesitating, "Except… well… It's not about Hoshiumi or the sharks but… he's probably just in shock."

"What? What happened?" Tooru asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Miura Kouhei… he's… he was there that night and saw everything. Around… two weeks after that awful meteor night, he stopped showing up at work. We checked on him but he's just incapable of getting over it… No surprise after what he saw that night. I have nightmares just from…"

His voice broke and he avoided looking directly at the sharks' hole.

"It was a carnage. And I only saw it afterwards… I didn't–"

Noticing him breaking down at the memory, Tooru put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine. I understand. Do you think you could give me the address where this Miura Kouhei lives?"

Watanabe was surprised by the question, but he nodded.

A few hours later, Tooru was knocking at Miura Kouhei's door. Though the interior was hidden by pulled curtains and there was a huge accumulation of mail he knew Miura Kouhei was still living here after asking a neighbour.

There was no answer, so he knocked again and saw a movement from behind the curtain.

"Miura-san? Are you here?" He asked, loud enough to be heard.

After a few more long seconds, he finally heard a clicking sound and slowly, the door opened just a crack. Miura Kouhei, pale and scared, looked at him from the little opening.

"W-who are you…?" He asked in a low voice.

"My name is Oikawa Tooru, I'm a private investigator." He introduced himself, showing him the card, "I only want to ask you a few questions."

"It's… about that monster, isn't it…?"

Tooru frowned lightly, tilting his head on a side.

"A monster? What monster?" He asked, even though he had an idea of what he was referring to.

Miura breathed heavily, glancing around nervously. Finally, Tooru smiled, as reassuring as he could, putting his charm to work.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me. You don't risk anything."

"…You'll try to stop it… right?"

"If you tell me what you know and what's going on, I'll try my best, yes," he answered with a smile.

The young aquarist hesitated but finally opened the door completely to let him in. He made some tea despite the sorry state his apartment was in and Tooru found some local news articles spread over the main table – all concerned recent murders or disappearances.

"I didn't think a private investigator would be the one… I would have expected Nite Owl or the police…" Miura said hesitantly.

"Ah, hopefully Nite Owl and his team are onto this too. I'm working with the police, but for this case I was hired by an independent person who wishes to remain anonymous."

He paused, looking carefully at every expression going over the man's face as he continued:

"Can you tell me what happened the night of the meteor? I know the vague story behind your senpai, Hoshiumi Kourai's death…"

"He… he saved me that night, y'know? He's… he was a good senpai and he really… he just… it all happened so fast…" He said in a breath, "He fell into the water and the sharks were all so panicked they… they attacked him. I saw the water turning red… then…"

_Kouhei was staring at the water, boiling from the panicked movements of the fish from the sharks' hole. He was waiting for Hoshiumi-senpai to come back and swim to the edge of the water. Kouhei saw the water turning red and gasped, running toward the emergency first-aid kit and grabbing his walkie-talkie with shaking hands._

" _Watanabe-san! Watanabe-san, can you hear me?! We need help at the sharks' hole! Hoshiumi-senpai is… Hoshiumi-senpai is–"_

_Only static answered him just as a figure emerged from the water, gasping for air._

" _Hoshiumi-senpai!" Kouhei shouted, running to the edge of the water._

_He was covered in blood and despite his panic, Hoshiumi swam quickly to the edge of the water. He reached a bloody hand out just as Kouhei saw the shark fin right behind. It was getting closer. He grabbed his senpai's hand and pulled just before Hoshiumi shouted and was pulled back by the shark. The blood and water made his hand slippery and when Kouhei accidentally let him go, Hoshiumi fell back into the water. More blood spilled, mixing with the water._

" _KOUHEI!" He shouted, holding onto the railing. He cried out in pain as his limbs were torn off._

_Kouhei ran back to him just as, with one last gasp, he was dragged under the water, leaving bloody fingerprints on the ground._

" _NO! Hoshiumi-senpai!" He shouted._

_He watched, helpless, as the water boiled, turning red. He was waiting for his senpai to come back to the surface of the water but…_

_He ran into a nearby room and grabbed a tranquilizer gun that was used only in extreme emergencies, such as a shark attacking an aquarist. He went to the edge of the water and prepared to stop the shark, but everything was a cloudy red._

" _Hoshiumi-senpai!" He called once again._

_The animals were still thrashing into the water. But by the time they calmed down and some of their colleagues arrived, it was too late… The water was red from blood and what was left of Hoshiumi Kourai was floating with the dead fish. Kouhei was kneeling in bloody water, holding onto the weapon with shaky hands._

"I… I let him die… I didn't do anything… I panicked and I– if I had acted… he wouldn't be…"

Miura Kouhei's voice broke and he lowered his head, sobbing into his hands. Tooru watched him, unable to even  _imagine_  the scene he had watched, his senpai and friend torn apart by the animals they were supposed to care for.

"A-and then… I thought he was really dead but…!"

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Tooru asked, frowning.

The aquarist looked up, eyes wide and teary.

"He came back…  _it_ … I don't know… two weeks after his death… I was… I was still working that night because we were short-handed on staff. That's when…  _it_  came out of the water…"

" _It?_  What was it?"

"I don't know… it was monstrous… It stood on two legs and it had arms, but the rest of the body was… it was like a mix between shark and… a human… and the head… The head was– it looked like Hoshiumi-san but…"

He looked up at Tooru.

"I ran away… and I never went back…"

"But you saw the articles in the newspaper…" Tooru concluded, glancing once again at what he had gathered.

"H-Hoshiumi-senpai would… he would never hurt anyone… It can't be him! Right? It has to be the monster that took his appearance, but it's not Hoshiumi-senpai!"

"Why did you lock yourself up? Why didn't you warn the police or the Shiratorizawa Special Force? They are in charge of cases like these," Tooru continued.

"B-because… it came after me… I haven't… I'm too scared… Even if it's not something Hoshiumi-senpai would do… it looked like him and he… what would they do to him? Before I ran away and when it came here to see me… it looked at me and I… it was in pain, it was scared… I couldn't–"

He lowered his head again shaking.

Tooru thought back on all the missing people, probably superhumans… Where had they ended up? Where did the Shiratorizawa Special Force take them?

He thanked Kouhei for everything, promising his best to find and help Hoshiumi, or whatever humanity was left of him at least… As expected the superhuman-alien he was dealing with was enough of a shark to be dangerous, and enough of a human to be even more so. Sharks rarely attacked humans and only did so by accident or because of global warming, but he doubted that this superhuman was capable of remembering the human side of him. Or he wouldn't be killing so much, at least from what he had heard of Hoshiumi Kourai, he was a nice enough guy to not have murderous-intent.

Leaning against his car, Tooru watched the Tokyo Bay as the sun was setting, turning everything into shades of orange and gold. It was beautiful, and yet, held so much danger.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone and called the person he knew he could ask for help in catching this superhuman. After a few rings, he answered.

" _Yeah?"_  Tsukishima Kei asked, sounding annoyed – or nervous?

"Kei-chan, I am currently tracking a superhuman, half-shark and half-human, who has already killed many people. He stays around the Shinagawa Aquarium. I think I'll need help from Nite Owl and Little Giant to catch him without risking my life."

" _Stop calling me that. That's all you ever call for…"_

"That's rude, I also share all the information I gather on the missing people so you can help your brother."

"… _I suppose it's not a surprise you know that I know Nite Owl."_

"Of course I know. 'The Moon' knows our hero pretty well, after all, and you're both night owls active under the moonlight, aren't you?"

" _Don't try to sound poetic. As for the information you owe me about my brother, they're pretty scarce."_

"Hey! It's not my fault they are guarding their secrets so well! You aren't finding out much either!"

" _Tch…"_

There was a short pause before Tsukishima talked again:

" _I'm calling Nite Owl."_

And before Tooru could thank him, the phone call was ended. He straightened up and went to the back of his car, opening it up to a collection of weapons. He eyed them over, before choosing one that would best help him capture a shark-human super alien.

There was one thing that didn't make sense in this story: according to Miura-san, Hoshiumi's shark-self had come out from the same sharks' hole where he had been eaten. And yet, no one at the Aquarium mentioned the appearance or disappearance of any shark, or human, or shark-human. Either they were hiding it, which wouldn't make sense because then, why would they have told him so much about the meteor night? Or they hadn't noticed anything. If that was the case, and with the series of murders being concentrated in the same area, it meant that Hoshiumi had never disappeared from the caretakers' aquarium. He was still there, in the sharks' hole, waiting for hunger to push him to escape and go hunt for another victim.

Once again thanks to his private investigator pass, he went into the Aquarium, after closing hours this time. He took the usual tour that any visitor would take and looked up at the sharks' hole. Seeing all these animals swimming peacefully made it difficult to imagine any of them attacking and eating a human…

Hands in his pockets, he observed closely every animal he saw, though they completely ignored his presence, not troubling themselves with what was on the other side of the glass.

As he walked away, Tooru didn't notice that one of the sharks had turned his sharp eyes and followed him with his gaze.

Tooru investigated around a little, finding out that there was no camera in the aquarium except in the halls where the public was going to see the animals, and special cameras in the water that gave up-close views of the various creatures. He had wished to watch whatever recording there was for the night of the meteor, or any night following from the sharks' hole. He  _did_  find something interesting though: there were some forgotten cameras outside to keep an eye on the entries and exits. The alien figure of Hoshiumi had appeared several times on those, even though he was mostly hidden. They recorded the shark man three times, then the fourth time Hoshiumi suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked up, a frightening intelligence shining in his dark eyes, and a few minutes later he managed to climb over the fence and reach for the camera. He didn't break it, just turned it away so it wouldn't record him anymore. There was no more recording after that, probably because he was out of view.

 _So, he is intelligent enough to erase clues about himself_ , Tooru concluded as he pulled out a map of the aquarium. He found the exit that the camera was monitoring and noticed it was going straight into the Tokyo Bay.

Tooru then went to that exit, looking for clues but there was nothing in the perimeter. He put the camera back in its former place, then set down his trap, hoping that it wouldn't be noticed or wouldn't catch the wrong person – or superhuman. But no one seemed to go around here as it led to nothing except the Tokyo Bay.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was an unknown number. Frowning, he answered anyway.

"Yes?"

" _Oikawa Tooru-san?"_  A quiet voice asked over the phone.

"Yes, who is this?"

There was a short pause, then the person over the phone continued:

" _Nite Owl has arrived near the Shinagawa Aquarium, he wants to know more about the were-shark superhuman you're dealing with."_

"Oh. Well, that was fast. Kei-chan is more effective than I would have thought… I'm joining him right away!"

The person on the phone ended the call and as Tooru walked to the entrance of the Shinagawa Aquarium. He tried calling it again but the phone number didn't exist.

 _They know how to erase any trace of themselves_ , he concluded.

It wasn't hard to find Nite Owl considering his vehicle was in plain sight in the front of the aquarium and he was leaning against it casually.

"I would have expected you to aim for more discretion," Oikawa remarked, pointing at the man who shrugged.

"People know who I am by now, there's no point in hiding what I do when wearing my hero costume!"

"Where is Little Giant?" He asked, looking around but seeing no orange-clad hero.

"Someone needs to patrol the rest of Tokyo and where most of the trouble usually happens. He's got BB-5 to back him up."

"BB-5?" Oikawa repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Our tech expert, you had him on the phone a little while ago I assume?" He answered, stepping away from his Nite Bike, "So, what's this about a were-shark?"

"I might as well tell you everything. Come on in."

The workers of the aquarium stared in a mix of awe, incredulity and fear as the private investigator who had decided to investigate their workplace came back in, accompanied by  _Nite Owl himself._  Neither Oikawa nor the hero even blinked at their starstruck gazes. As they walked towards the sharks' hole, the private investigator explained everything he had found so far.

"That sounds like an awful way to become a superhuman, devoured by a shark… urk," Nite Owl commented, leaning towards the thick glass to observe the sharks and fish swimming.

Oikawa glanced at him curiously, wondering if he could ask the question that was burning his lips… And he decided that he had nothing to lose, and only knowledge to gain, perhaps even more proof for his  _superhuman-are-alien-theory._

"So… you weren't…  _devoured_  by… anything?"

"Oh no! I don't really know what happened, I just got really sick and then… I was super strong." He answered easily.

"Are you  _sure_  you weren't devoured? By something strange, not of this world? You don't have any memories? What about injections of some sort? Or perhaps–"

Nite Owl turned towards him, frowning lightly, confused by his questions. Oikawa shut up, but stared back. Then the hero shrugged.

"I don't know what happened that night. My friend's theory is that when that meteor fell down, it liberated some sort of toxin that mutated my DNA, and all superhumans'. He can't tell if that toxin was just some sort of radioactive wave, biological particles, or something else…"

His voice trailed off and he blinked, then leaned forward once again towards the glass of the sharks' hole.

"If this guy was being devoured by a shark the moment these waves of toxin hit the area of the aquarium then, maybe that's why it affected him in such a way? His DNA was in the shark's stomach and it affected both the shark and the human, turning them into…this. I don't think he's a were-shark, he acts completely differently from Lev who was just confused and scared–"

"Lev?" Oikawa repeated.

"Ah, uh, our werelion, long story."

"I know about the werelion you captured, I didn't think you had tamed him though."

Nite Owl turned sharp eyes towards him, startling the private investigator.

"We didn't. He's not an animal. He's a superhuman like me, like this Hoshiumi-san. Most superhumans can be dangerous, some are bad, some are good. We were all born human and even after becoming  _this_ , we're still no different from the rest of you."

"…And yet you make the difference between humans and superhumans." He answered, shoulders tense.

"Because  _you_  are the ones setting us apart! Why do you think so many people are disappearing? They're all superhumans being captured because they're deemed dangerous! So far, most of the 'villains' I've dealt with were just scared and didn't know how to control their powers…"

Oikawa thought deeply about this. He had had his doubts that the people disappearing, including Kiku-chan, were superhumans but… Nite Owl was confirming this? Did it mean he had proof? Why had Kei-chan not told him any of this?

"Are you certain of what you're saying? Do you have any proof that the people disappearing are superhumans?"

Nite Owl flinched, and turned gravely towards the young man.

"I don't. But it's the only way it'd make sense, isn't it? Tsukki told me one of your friends disappeared and that it's part of the reason why you're in contact."

"…Yeah, a friend of mine… who happens to also be my best friend's fiancée. I need to find her… or at least find out what happened to her…"

Nite Owl glanced at him, then he took a deep breath.

"Well, it won't happen right here and right now, unless our fish-friend knows the truth behind that meteor fall and everything that happened ever since. What we need to do is stop Hoshiumi from killing any more people."

He lifted up his left arm and started typing on a screen that was on his forearm. Oikawa stared in awe, feeling like he was in a superhero movie.

"Is it some super-advanced alien technology?"

"No? Just BB-5's latest invention? We're not aliens, y'know?"

"Are you certain? Because this looks just like…"

His voice trailed off when Nite Owl looked back at the sharks' hole. The glasses, incorporated in his helmet to protect his eyes and work as a screen for him, darkened slightly. The sharks' hole was scanned and analysed by BB-5's technology. Nite Owl could see the shape of every fish and shark in the water, and their body heat signature. They all had around the same body temperature, similar to that of the water – except one. There was one shark, bigger than the others that was swimming in circles and had a body temperature much higher than any of his companions. Even higher than a normal human.

"That big shark at the back of the tank," Nite Owl said, pointing at him, "His body temperature isn't right, too high for a fish or human. And look at his movements."

In the midst of all the animals swimming he was easily going undetected, but once he was pointed out, he did appear strange. He was continuously swimming in circles in the exact same area, far away enough to be mostly hidden from view from the public on the other side of the shark hole's glass  _and_  from the animal curators watching from above. His movements were agile, fast and erratic. And mostly, at every turn, he made sure to look at Nite Owl and Oikawa Tooru.

"He's looking at us," he remarked.

"Yep. I think he knows who we are and what we're doing." Nite Owl answered without a blink.

"That's creepy."

Suddenly, the shark, or rather, Hoshiumi, changed his swimming direction. Instead of swimming in circles like he had done until now, he charged right at them, his dark eyes full of intelligence.

"Uuum… he's coming towards us…" Oikawa added, stepping back.

"It's fine. He can't do anything to us with the glass there." Nite Owl answered with a shrug.

"He's not slowing down though and–"

The two men startled when the shark didn't stop and crashed right into the thick glass. He was pushed back and they stared at him as he turned away, accelerated and charged again. He ran into the glass again, and the third time around the glass cracked lightly. At every impact, the crack kept spreading further and further through the centimetres of glass, despite what they would have expected from a secured aquarium.

"Is this… supposed to happen?" Oikawa asked, taking a step backwards.

"It should be thick and solid enough to not–"

_BAM!_

The crack extended further. Nite Owl stepped back as well.

"Um…"

"The water pressure is going to be too much if it keeps cracking like that–"

"He must have a lot of strength if he can break through it–"

_BAM! Crack!_

"Could we analyse him later, Nite Owl?!" Oikawa exclaimed just as an alarm started sounding, red lights flashing.

A thin spurt of water erupted from the crack. The whole thing would break after a few more hits. Nite Owl opened his mouth to answer just as Hoshiumi hit the glass once again – this time it cracked enough that more water burst from the aquarium. The other fish and sharks were swimming in a panic while Hoshiumi kept his dark eyes on the two of them, determined to get to them and using the shortest way for that.

"We should probably run," Nite Owl said.

He turned around but Oikawa was already running full speed towards the exit. He started following him just as they heard a thunderous sound behind them. They didn't have to look over their shoulders to know that the thick glass had broken. Water started flooding the narrow hall. In less than two seconds, Oikawa and Nite Owl's legs were engulfed by water and they fell down as the water level rose. The water pushed them against the walls.

Nite Owl emerged from the water, struggling to stay grounded while he was surrounded by panicked sea animals. The level wasn't enough for most of the smaller sharks who were fighting to stay underwater. Thankfully, the water had flooded the entire hall and wouldn't drown them as it kept spreading further and further.

"Oikawa!" Nite Owl shouted when he realised the man wasn't in sight.

"I'm here!" He exclaimed.

The hero turned around, seeing the man pressed against the exit door, trying to push them open.

"It's stuck! I can't open the doors!" He exclaimed, starting to walk slowly, painfully, through the water to join Nite Owl, "Where is Hoshiumi?!"

Nite Owl looked around but even though they could see through the water, there was no sign of the superhuman. With the flooding and accident from the sharks' hole the lights had all gone out, there was only the red emergency light flashing with a deafening alarm. The panicked sharks made it even worse in the water, splashing everywhere to breathe and survive.

Suddenly, people came running from the other side of the hall, wearing high waterproof boots:

"What happened?!"

"Get out of here! Stay away!" Nite Owl ordered, not wanting to risk another civilian's life when a shark superhuman was hiding in these waters.

But even from far away, he saw the two animal caretakers' faces turning pale. One of them pointed, and when Nite Owl followed his gaze, he gasped. He saw a shark fin swimming straight towards Oikawa, who didn't notice anything.

"Oikawa! Watch out!" He shouted.

The private investigator looked back at the hero just before he was dragged under the water.

"OIKAWA!"

He saw the water, a translucid red from the emergency light, go cloudy and dark. Nite Owl tried to hurry but even with his super strength and super speed, he wasn't made to go in water – he could barely advance at all even when Oikawa emerged from the water with a scream. He was covered in blood and before anything could be done, another figure emerged. Taller even than Oikawa, in a humanoid shape, Hoshiumi let out a shriek that on the other hand,  _wasn't_  human.

Nite Owl shivered when he saw Hoshiumi, his body and face turned into a monstrous chimera between human and shark. The left part of his face was covered in thick blood and he screamed continuously in pain, covering his head with his hands. Nite Owl finally noticed that Oikawa had been holding something in his hand, probably the weapon he had used against the shark. He dropped it and collapsed in the water with a painful gasp.

"Hold on! I'm coming, Oikawa!" Nite Owl shouted, his heart beating fast from the physical effort and in desperation to reach the man before he was devoured.

Thankfully, Hoshiumi had no intention of finishing him at the moment. Having no trouble at all in the water despite his human legs, he stepped away until he fell against the wall. Still breathing rapidly and whining in pain, he leaned against it, then broke through the exit door that had been blocked before.

Water suddenly recessed and Nite Owl almost fell over. He grabbed Oikawa's arm and fell to his knees just as the water spread further, taking the animals with it.

The private investigator was breathing hard, eyes closed tightly as he shakily grabbed his leg. His pants were a deep red and the wound around his right knee kept gushing out blood. But between the water, the blood and the clothes, Nite Owl had no idea how badly injured he was.

"My leg…! My leg!" Oikawa whined, teeth clenching as he held desperately onto the hero.

Just then the two animal caretakers of the aquarium arrived now that the water level was reasonable. They were panicked, but they immediately assessed the man's injury.

"Carry him out of the water and call the hospital! Get him out of this building and with a doctor as soon as possible!" Nite Owl ordered, standing up, "I'm going after this superhuman! Order the evacuation of the entire building! Where does this exit door lead?!" He asked, pointing at where the shark superhuman had gone.

"I-it leads to the restaurant, the shop and the seaside terrace!"

The red emergency lights were still flashing, turning the space into a bloody ocean. The alarm was still ringing, deafening everyone in the building, especially when a recorded voiced message was added to it.

" _All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in article 7.13 of the Employee Manual."_

There was a pause filled by the alarm before it repeated the same message, over and over again:

" _All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in article 7.13 of the Employee Manual. All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in…"_

It continued as annoying background noise while Nite Owl ran through an open-air road, past the Seagull shop and into the Aquarium's restaurant. He followed the drops of blood on the ground and talked to BB-5 in the same time.

"BB-5! Hack into the aquarium system and try to get some control here! The alarm and lights are driving me crazy! Try to get me some visual with the surveillance cameras!"

" _I'm doing my best,"_  the tech expert answered.

Nite Owl arrived into the Dolphin restaurant, switching from almost complete darkness to a blinding red. He stopped, turning all around but he couldn't see any sign of blood anymore.

" _All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in article 7.13 of the Employee Manual. All employees are requested to leave the…"_

The tables, chairs and other furniture were disturbing his sense of orientation because of the way he could see them in red flashes. The little dolphins hanging from the ceilings were making shapes that kept startling him.

He was certain Hoshiumi had run into here, but he had used the space and lights to his advantage. Even if he he'd mostly worked with terrestrial animals and mostly birds of prey, Nite Owl knew that sharks could see very well in dark or muddy waters. They could hear sounds humans didn't and had an extremely keen olfactory sense. Those would be mostly advantageous in the water, but right now, he was a human. But how much of his sharks' senses were maintained when he was turning into a man? If he kept any of these senses, Nite Owl was at a clear disadvantage with his sight and his hearing impaired by the aquarium's alarm.

" _All employees are requested to leave–"_

Nite Owl felt something surging at him from behind. He turned around just as Hoshiumi closed his powerful jaws around his left forearm. The hero grunted, feeling the sharp teeth digging deep through his costume, through flesh  _and_  the bone. He couldn't even imagine the pain Oikawa was in right now. Using his shield in his right arm, he hit the left side of Hoshiumi's head, which was already injured. The wereshark stepped away, grunting in pain as Nite Owl retracted in a defensive position, his left arm shaking from pain.

Hoshiumi had a mostly human body, which seemed covered in a thick and glistening grey skin – like a shark's. starting from the shoulders, instead of a neck and a distinctive head, it was turning into a shark head with clear human features that made him look so strange: his entire face and nose were elongated resembling a shark or fish, his mouth was wide and full of shark teeth, but  _his eyes_  were human. They were glinting in fury.

Hoshiumi didn't wait for Nite Owl to be ready to attack him. He surged forward, faster than a human should be – as swift as a shark in water, even though he was standing on two legs. He opened his mouth so wide it seemed impossible, but it also meant that he was making himself blind to where he was going. Nite Owl bent down and used his shield once again to hit him from under the jaw. The were-shark almost fell backwards but quickly got back on his feet, glaring at the hero. Without wasting a minute, Nite Owl grabbed a flash bomb that he threw on the ground with closed eyes.

He heard the hissing scream of Hoshiumi as he got blinded. When the light faded, Nite Owl saw him stumbling away, hitting tables and chairs, falling over while covering his eyes. His left arm was too injured to be able to do anything with it, so he strapped his shield against it, gritting his teeth in pain but at least he'd be protected. Going against that shark with his one good arm bare was risky, but he'd have more power and more chances to finish the fight – right now, while he was completely blinded, was the right opportunity.

Nite Owl ran towards Hoshiumi, standing up with a low growl of pain, and punched him right in the head. Hoshiumi almost fell over, letting out a loud gasp. A left kick pushed the were-shark back into tables that broke, but that didn't keep him down at all. Nite Owl noticed his right eye was still closed, but when he went for a punch, Hoshiumi caught his fist with his left, slimy hand, and punched him with his right arm. The hero's head whipped to the side, a little wobbly after such a strong hit, and the shark tried to bite off his head. He jumped away, weakly hitting Hoshiumi with the top of his shield, but it was enough to avoid the powerful jaws just in time. Pain shot through his left arm, making him gasp and grit his teeth. Nite Owl used his right leg to kick him in the chest, forcing the were-shark backwards once again, stumbling into the shards of wooden tables. Another side kick from his left leg made Hoshiumi lose his balance, and a right punch immediately following that almost made him fall down to his knees. Nite Owl jumped into the air, twisted around and used the momentum to kick him with his right leg. The were-shark flew into the air from the force of the kick, crashing into tables as he rolled and slid about ten meters.

The hero stopped, watching the were-shark carefully. The red lights were still flashing, the continuous alarm and message deafening.

" _All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in article 7.13 of the Employee Manual. All employees are requested to leave the building as soon as possible, using the exits as instructed in article 7.13 of the Employee Manual. All employees…"_

Hoshiumi was still moving a little but didn't seem like he could stand up this time. Nite Owl took handcuffs from his tool belt and moved toward the moaning were-shark. He put down his shield, his left arm shaky, to pull the superhuman's two arms back and put the handcuffs on.

Hoshiumi had stopped moving, turning his head to observe Nite Owl, his human eyes unblinking and making him uncomfortable.

"…You've killed people… we had to stop you…"

Nite Owl stood up and tried to use the interface on his forearm, but it was damaged from the bite. So, he tapped on the microphone on the side of his helmet.

"BB-5? Can you receive me? I've got Hoshiumi in handcuffs. Ask Kuroo, Akaashi or Tsukki if they can come and pick him up."

" _Not Shiratorizawa?"_

"No… I don't trust them unless it's with filthy criminals."

" _Didn't he kill plenty of people already?"_

"…I think… Hoshiumi can be reasoned with." Nite Owl said, voice tight with hope.

"… _Got it."_

Because of the alarm, Nite Owl didn't notice Hoshiumi moving, the shreds of wood falling from his movements. His shoulders and arms twisted and trembled, and slowly, he started to morph his upper body back into a shark. The handcuffs slipped off easily, just as Nite Owl turned around. He instinctively lifted up his arms, the were-shark standing up and shifting his arms back into human ones. His left side was bleeding because of a chair foot that had pierced his skin. Hoshiumi grabbed the metal lump, clenching his jaws as he lightly pulled at it but the pain stopped him.

"… _Who…"_  he said in a raspy, unhuman voice,  _"Did that…"_

His words were barely audible, and hard to understand because of the alarm and message on repeat. He clenched his hand around the metal, making his wound bleed even more, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes were filled with rage, fear and disgust.

" _Me… monster… who… did that…"_  He continued, struggling to pronounce words with his jaws.

Nite Owl opened and closed his lips, before relaxing his shoulders.

"I… I don't know yet… but I'm like you, and I'm looking for a solution. We… we can get help. I'm sure of it!"

Hoshiumi stared at him, his eyes changing from a blood-lust red, to a painful blue – but it was an effect of the flashing light. Or so Nite Owl hoped.

"We can find a solution, maybe even turn back to normal!" Nite Owl exclaimed hopefully.

Hoshiumi tried to say something else but the hero couldn't understand. He stepped closer but the shark immediately backed away, growling like a cornered animal.

"I don't want to hurt you! unless I have to defend myself!" Nite Owl quickly said, lifting up his hands, "I want to help you, I promise! But you need to trust me!"

"… _Don't… hurt?"_  Hoshiumi asked in his raspy voice, waving his free hand towards the hero.

"I won't hurt you, I promise," he said.

"… _Hungry… I…"_

"I'm hungry all the time too, it's okay! We'll find food and you won't have to kill anyone!"

" _Don't hurt…?"_

"I won't hurt you, I promise," he repeated with a smile, relief slowly hitting him.

Hoshiumi hesitated for a long time, but he finally took a step towards Nite Owl. He lowered his arms, happy about this unexpected turn of events. As he had half expected, Hoshiumi was, like most superhumans, just scared and hungry. He wanted to understand what had happened to him. Nite Owl would try to save him.

The were-shark was suddenly hit by a dart that Nite Owl recognized at once: a tranquilizer! Hoshiumi cried out and almost fell over again, immediately trying to rip off the tranquiliser dart.

Nite Owl whipped around and saw a young man he had never met, frightened and shaking even though he had just shot the were-shark.

"You killed all these people! I should have done that months ago!" Miura shouted, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You idiot!" Nite Owl hissed.

Hoshiumi had thrown the dart away and ripped the metal bar from his chest. Blood dripped all over, but he started running through what was left of the restaurant. Nite Owl tried to stop him but the were-shark was faster. He ran straight towards the wide bay window.

"NO!"

Hoshiumi ran straight into it, on purpose or not, Nite Owl couldn't tell. Under the strength of the were-shark, it broke into pieces and the superhuman fell down. They heard a big splash of water and Nite Owl ran to the edge of what was left of the bay window. He looked into the dark water but he couldn't see any sign of–

A shape leapt out of the water, and big, sharp teeth were the first things Nite Owl saw. He stepped away from Hoshiumi, who had turned back into a full-sized shark, but by doing so, the hero lost his footing and fell into the water. It wasn't very deep, but it still allowed the shark to go back into the water. Nite Owl saw Hoshiumi swim swiftly away then turning around to get more momentum. He opened his jaws wide just as Nite Owl tried to avoid him – but he wasn't made to be in water. He closed his eyes, ready for the impact or for his head to be bitten off, whichever would come first. Hoshiumi's jaws snapped just before his nose.

The shark twisted in pain and Nite Owl saw another dart sink into his back. Touching the ground of the artificial pond, he kicked up so he could try to escape the water and the superhuman's jaws while he was distracted by the tranquilizer dart.

Nite Owl took in air with a gasp when he emerged from the water, then he immediately swam and reached for the edge of the restaurant floor. He started lifting himself up with Miura's help, who grabbed him and pulled as fast as possible out of the water.

Behind them, Hoshiumi emerged as well, in human form, screaming out for air. He started to shift into a shark, but the tranquilizer was started to kick in.

When Miura lifted up his tranquilizer gun once again, scared of the superhuman, Nite Owl grabbed his weapon.

"No! Sharks need to swim to breathe! He received two doses already, he won't stay conscious and he'll die, either as human or shark! We need to help him!"

"But he's a monster! He devoured innocent people! And it's my fault for not ending him that night, for not helping him when he needed me!" Miura screamed.

Before they could think of another solution, Hoshiumi started thrashing. He was mostly shark, but trying to revert to human in order to breathe, desperate to stay conscious. Letting out a scream of vengeful pain, he tried to reach the restaurant as well.

"Watch out!"

Nite Owl grabbed Miura and pulled him away, both of them escaping the possible attack from the were-shark.

Suddenly blue lightning illuminated the surface of the artificial lake. Hoshiumi, still half in the water, shouted was he was electrocuted. His body arched, thrashed and convulsed for as long as electricity ran through the water. Then it stopped. And Hoshiumi's anguish, and life, ended as well.

Body human, expression almost peaceful, he was suspended in mid-air for a short moment… then slowly fell backwards into the water.

The smell of burning wood, fish and human mixed together, creating something that was both strange and unpleasant.

Nite Owl and Miura, who had been lucky to not in contact with any drop of water when electricity had hit the surface of the artificial lake, slowly stood up. Nite Owl hesitantly approached the lake, but there was no more electricity to put him in danger. He watched Hoshiumi's body floating in the water, his agony over.

The hero looked up and swallowed hard. Oikawa, leg bandaged and standing with the help of several men – animal caretakers from the aquarium, some police officers and even doctors who had come after the emergency call – still held his arm up. He was shaking and pale, probably from pain of even moving, but he had shot an electrical wave from a Taser into the water.

Miura, shaking and crying on the floor, watched as Nite Owl calmly turned around, grabbed his shield and then left. No one saw him again that night. While the police, then the Shiratorizawa Special Force (who had heard about it after a call from a local police officer) investigated everything, Hoshiumi's body was collected from the water. Oikawa was brought to the hospital and was operated on. His doctor fully intended to give him the scolding of a lifetime when he woke, for even  _thinking_  of standing up after getting his leg bitten by a  _shark_.

"So, nothing left for us to do here except try to cover up as much of it as possible," Semi mumbled as the body of the superhuman was taken away.

"Send his body to the CRS anyway, they might find out something during the autopsy." Ushijima answered.

Semi frowned, staring at his friend and leader.

"But the Centre isn't equipped for autopsies, even with all their laboratories…"

"We can't bring this corpse to the Miyagi Police Station, and we haven't had any case of a superhuman dying  _before_  we caught it. We have no choice but send it to the CRS. Create a team of medical examiners, we might have a situation like this one again."

Semi was in charge of handling most of the exchanges between the Centre of Research for Superhumans and the military team – he had only gone there twice and now that he thought about it… They weren't sending him as many data as he would have expected. He had been too busy with the Miyagi Police Station and the other missions to notice earlier but…

He watched Ushijima walk away. He was Washijou's subordinate – Washijou who wasn't satisfied with the Shiratorizawa Special Force's current results.

Why would Ushijima mention superhumans dying, while implying that they had met such a fate  _after_  they had been caught?

But even if suspicion and doubts were gnawing at his heart, Semi obeyed the orders.

_A few days later, at the JCHO Tokyo Takanawa Hospital…_

Oikawa Tooru woke up calmly, the pain almost completely gone – or maybe it was the painkillers that were too effective.

He didn't remember anything after ending Hoshiumi's life; he had finally fallen unconscious from blood loss and the sheer pain in his leg. He had been driven to the hospital and operated on. His next memory was waking up and getting scolded by his surgeon for the sheer foolishness of his actions. Police had interrogated him – they'd send their reports to the Shiratorizawa Special Force, they wouldn't even bother coming to see him directly, after all. Then, it had been Iwaizumi's scolding, even less pleasant than the doctor's. Hanae-chan had called, promising to visit as soon as possible.

And…

Last night, he had received an unexpected visit from a bird of prey.

_Oikawa had been dozing off when he woke up, startled. Nite Owl stood in his hospital room, staring down at him with the moon behind him. A window was open, letting fresh air in. The private investigator tried to sit up, winced when pain shot through his leg, and settled for a half-sitting position._

" _A-are you here to kill me?" He asked in a hushed voice._

" _What? No!" Nite Owl exclaimed, making a face at the strange accusation, "Why would I come to kill you?"_

" _Your sudden appearance in my hospital room in the middle of the night, in such a suspicious situation, would make anyone think that – did you come through the window? We're on the third floor of the building! How did you even make it up there?!"_

" _I have my ways," he answered with a shrug before stepping forward and glancing at the injured leg, hidden under the white sheets._

_Without the moon giving him an eerie and dangerous look from the back, he looked less like he was here to murder Oikawa – but he still wasn't completely reassured._

" _How… what…" He asked, pointing at the leg._

" _Ah… Lucky, the doctor said. No broken bone, but it'll take a little bit of time for the muscles and tissues to get fixed and I'll have an ugly scar… I'll be able to walk again eventually…" Oikawa said, head landing against the pillow as he stared up at the hospital ceiling._

_The car headlights from the street made the room light up in occasional flashes. It drove him insane._

_He turned a tired gaze towards Nite Owl, who kept his lips thin._

"… _But?" He encouraged, knowing there was more than "lucky" to his wound._

" _ACL injury. The ligament was completely torn, probably from the pressure and the way Hoshiumi twisted my leg. Or so the doctor says."_

_He took a deep, heavy breath, trying to sit up again._

" _I'll be able to walk and run, it'll just take a lot of time to fix it. It could be worse I guess."_

" _I guess…"_

" _You're not here just to enquire on my well-being, though. You want to know why I decided to come back and kill Hoshiumi, isn't it?" Oikawa said in a low voice that was almost as raspy as Hoshiumi's had been._

_Nite Owl didn't answer, just stared at him._

" _I wanted to help and everyone tried to keep me away from the aquarium. When we heard a crashing sound through the restaurant's bay window, we saw Hoshiumi and you falling into it. I didn't know Miura-san had shot tranquilizers at him. I just saw that he was about to go back into the restaurant to end you… I took my Taser gun and aimed for the water. I only wanted to help…"_

_His voice broke and he looked away. His expression was stern and his eyes unflinching._

" _You don't feel guilty at all." Nite Owl remarked, narrowing his eyes at the private investigator._

_He looked up at the hero, mouth twisting into a grin._

" _I can't_ _ **afford**_ _guilt. I'm not a hero like you. I had a job, which was to investigate on a supposed 'alien' and try to capture it alive. It was a murderer who put you and others in danger. I did what I needed to do to ensure people's safety in case he escaped you."_

" _But even if he had become a superhuman, he–"_

" _Don't be mistaken, Nite Owl, I didn't kill him because he was a superhuman. I did it because he had become a murderer, a danger for everyone. If he had been a regular human, I would have made the exact same decision." Oikawa said in a cold and resolute voice._

_Nite Owl stared at him, golden eyes shining in the night and clenched his fists. It was obvious for Oikawa that he was feeling terribly guilty about Hoshiumi's death, despite his crimes. But it was all the more obvious that Nite Owl understood his choice and wouldn't hurt Oikawa for making it._

_Oikawa Tooru never held any regrets in his heart, especially not because of the path he had chosen to follow._

_Nite Owl stopped clenching his fists and his shoulders relaxed, even though his eyes were still as sharp._

" _Thank you, for saving my life twice… but I won't let anyone else die, human or superhuman." He said in a firm voice._

" _That's admirable of you, which is why_ _ **you're**_ _the hero, and not me." Oikawa answered with a shrug._

" _I suppose."_

_Nite Owl turned around, about to jump out the window, but he turned around at the last moment:_

" _By the way, I am going to seriously dig into what really happened the night and why we… why it happened." He said, his eyes shining like a predator's, "And… I don't expect you to feel any regrets for your decision of killing Hoshiumi… it might have been the best option at that moment… but he hadn't wanted to become a killer. He was scared, hungry and confused. He didn't choose to be a monster."_

_The golden eyes looked right into Oikawa's, his message clear. Hoshiumi hadn't chosen to become a monster, but the one who had pulled the final trigger might have. Oikawa let out a bitter chuckle._

" _Don't you dare give me that look, Nite Owl… Committing monstrous acts is part of being human. I don't mind being a monster in your eyes if I saved people by killing Hoshiumi the other night."_

"… _I wish you a smooth recovery, Oikawa." Nite Owl said in a sharp voice._

_He hopped out the window, grabbing a rope and let himself slide down to the ground._

_Tooru let out a heavy sigh, lifting up his arm to cover his eyes. He couldn't handle seeing the lights of the cars driving by. It reminded him too much of the flashing red light from that night. All that blood. The light of the electricity running through the water. That hideous smell._

_Oikawa Tooru never held any regrets in his heart, but guilt was one of his most familiar demons._

Tooru stared at the landscape he could see from his hospital room: the sky and the nearby grey buildings. The night was falling, and he couldn't wait to see tomorrow's sunrise. He was expecting more nightmares and not much sleep.

A knock at the door had him look up. His heart missed a beat when he saw Minami Hanae. She carried a big bouquet of flowers, probably bugged with some microphone, and smiled sadly.

"H-how are you doing…?" She asked gently, putting down the flowers.

"Beside the fact that I fought and killed a shark-superhuman-mutant and almost lost my leg? I'm fit as a fiddle!" He said with a smile.

She looked around, and after some hesitation, sat down.

"So… so… how is your leg…?" She said slowly, as if saying a wrong word might injure him all over again.

"…I'll be able to walk after some recovery time."

"That's great!" She exclaimed with so much relief in her eyes, it was hard not to believe her with his whole heart.

Tooru looked away, lips tight. Tension filled the air and she must have felt it because she became silent and still, observing him closely.

"Can I tell you the story of the only time I fell in love?" He suddenly spoke up.

Hanae looked up, opening and closing her lips, surprised by his change of subject.

"O-of course…"

He took a deep breath, then started his tale, giving just enough details that would make her react.

"I've always been fascinated with space and aliens. Back when I was still living near Sendai, I often went off in some nights to watch the stars. One night, I was still in high school, a girl my age ran into me. She was crying and yet, the most beautiful woman I had ever met."

He paused, seeing the way Hanae's eyes shone, her face stern and her hands unmoving in her lap.

"For some reason, we sat down and talked, for hours and hours until the morning light came. She told me her family had raised generations and generations of soldiers and spies working for Japan. Her cousin was destined to become some high-ranked leader and she would become a ruthless spy. If she could survive the test they had prepared for her."

He paused again. She wasn't breathing anymore, trembling slightly.

"She had been unable to sleep and wanted to run away. She told me her dream was to study literature, not become a weapon for her family to use as they pleased. I never saw her again after that night, but that one night was enough for me to fall in love with her… or the idea of her. Or whatever idea of her had bloomed after so many years. Her name was Sasaki Shiori."

Tooru turned his chocolate eyes towards Minami Hanae who stared back, cold and unflinching.

"I know Sasaki Shiori survived that test and became the spy and weapon her family had raised, because she's been spying on me for weeks now. So tell me, what are  _you_ …"

He paused, chuckled, then corrected his sentence with a satisfied smile and knowing glint in his eyes:

"What is the  _Shiratorizawa Special Force_  trying to find out from me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter!
> 
> The next mini-arc will be focused on Bokuto, and his past will come back to haunt him.
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May


	12. Silver & Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so, so sorry for taking so long but life has been hectic and it's difficult for me to find the energy to write and update my fanfics.I hope you'll still like this chapter!
> 
> I have a new betareader, she is becsprime on AO3! Thank you again for your betareading!

 

FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER XII : Silver & Gold

" _Just because you have superpowers, that doesn't mean your love life would be perfect. I don't think superpowers automatically means there won't be any personality problems, family problems or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers."_

–  **Stan Lee**

"Tonight was another success for Nite Owl and Little Giant," Akaashi remarked when the two heroes came back to the Nest.

"Thank you, Akaashi-san!" Little Giant exclaimed, jumping around full speed, "I felt so amazing when I BWAH and PAH-PAH-PAH against this villain!"

He punched the air, reminding everyone of his earlier moves.

"It was so cool, Hinata!" Lev congratulated, just as excited as the hero.

"The police have handed the villain over to the Shiratorizawa Special Force," Kenma announced, standing up from his desk to stretch.

They turned towards Nite Owl who took off his mask. He avoided their gazes, nodding.

"Thanks for your work, everyone." He answered.

He placed his bare hand against the screen that identified him and the passage towards the underground changing-room opened. Little Giant ran after him as Akaashi and Kenma turned towards each other.

"Is he okay?" Kenma asked, keeping his voice low enough that they wouldn't hear him.

"…I think he still has Hoshiumi's death on his mind." Akaashi answered, keeping his lips tight.

"But he's a super amazing hero! It's not his fault he was alone that night! Everyone praises Nite Owl and Little Giant for catching so many criminals!" Lev replied.

"He catches and stops villains or petty crime easily enough but when it matters the most… they slip away." Akaashi answered.

Kenma and Akaashi remembered well the guilt Bokuto had felt after the death of that very first girl just before he chose the path of a hero, then Koizumi Tamiko, and now Hoshiumi Kourai…

Before anything could be added, Bokuto Koutarou, dressed in civilian, showed up again. He was rubbing his left shoulder, bruised from the earlier fights. He was already healing but the process was hurting.

"Akaashi, I'll drive you back home considering you don't have your car right now." He said.

"Ah, thank you very much, Bokuto-san."

They had been together to take a coffee earlier when they had received the alert from Kenma's latest invention. It was an algorithm that collected data from camera surveillance, police conversations and all media, analysed it all and figured if there was a "villain alert". Lev's job, at the Nest, was to look at what the algorithm was detecting, and send a message to the team if he considered it a real threat. Bokuto and Akaashi had taken the former's car in their hurry and now the young CEO was at the other side of the city.

The drive back to Akaashi's gigantic and quite luxurious apartment (he had the means, obviously) was quiet, despite the young man's many glances in his senpai's direction.

"Is your left side okay?" He finally asked.

"Ah? Uh, yeah, just bruises. It'll be gone by tomorrow." Bokuto answered with a shrug.

"He hit you pretty hard."

"Yes, we're lucky that Hinata was here to take him down with his speed. Sometimes…"

Bokuto's voice trailed off and he became silent again. Akaashi stared at him encouragingly. The superhuman frowned and his grip on the car wheel got tighter.

"Sometimes… I wonder if Hinata wouldn't be better off without me…" he admitted.

"What?"

"He's a bit… innocent, and overly excited at times. But he's very enthusiastic and serious, he loves being a hero and every time he's here, it works out. When I'm alone, or get in the middle of things – I just bother him. I'm not as good a hero as everyone thinks I am and I just… feel like a failure, most of the time…"

"Bokuto-san, Hinata  _is_  doing a marvellous job at being a hero. But  _so are you_. And when you two work together? It  _always_  works out, that's why you're a team… And it's not just the two of you. Lev, Kenma, Kuroo and I are also here to back you up."

Bokuto kept his gaze focused on the road while Akaashi glanced to the landscape, before speaking up again:

"If you feel guilty about the few people we couldn't help or save in time, I understand. But don't shoulder all the blame. When it fails, we  _all_  fail. You don't have to think that it's your fault, or you're a failure – you keep us together and you're the reason we're doing all this. You inspire us, everyday, Bokuto-san, and that's an even more amazing thing to do, even as a regular person…"

They finally looked at each other. Bokuto kept his lips tight just as he stopped near Akaashi's building. He took a deep breath, and forced a smile on his face:

"Thank you… Akaashi. You're always here to keep me steady." He said gratefully.

"You're welcome, Bokuto-san." He answered with a smile.

Bokuto tapped his shoulder as the young man gathered his papers and bag to go out. The superhuman leaned over his car wheel, looked up through the window and noticed the light on in Akaashi's apartment.

"It looks like Addie-chan stayed up late again, waiting for you," he remarked with a teasing smile.

"I keep telling her she shouldn't wait for me so late," Akaashi answered with a fond expression on his face.

"So, when's the wedding day? I'm still waiting for my invitation."

"With everything that's been happening lately, it's difficult to even think about it…" Akaashi sighed.

He noticed the wishful look on his friend's face and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know… I could call  _her_  and–"

"I know," Bokuto said quickly, cutting him off and avoiding his gaze, "It's fine… I'm… happy for you. and for  _her_ , f-for all of you… couples and… families and all that. I'm looking forward to see you getting married, Akeeasghi."

Akaashi sighed deeply, knowing that it was a useless argument to go over this another time.

"Thank you for driving me here, Bokuto-san," he said, opening the door to leave.

Bokuto watched him go inside the building, then sighed deeply, starting the engines of his car. He was distracted the entire way back, his mind full of memories and guilt.

The following day, at the Zoo, he was having lunch with his colleagues who were laughing about something the elephants had done earlier, when he felt his phone vibrate. His heart missed a beat, thinking immediately of another alert for Nite Owl. He swallowed hard upon reading Akaashi's name. But he answered, his voice betraying his concerns:

"Yeah?"

" _Bokuto-san, are you at work right now?"_ Akaashi asked.

"I'm at lunch break. Why? What is going on?" He asked in a hushed voice.

" _I think I forgot a file in your car last night, it's a very important file that I'll need for tonight. Could you check in your car for me, please?"_

"O-oh… i-is this all?"

" _Is everything all right?"_

"Y-yeah, sure. I'll do that right away."

He ended the call and stood up. He hurried to his car and without much surprise, he found the file under the passenger's seat. He called Akaashi back:

"I have it."

" _Thank goodness it's not lost… I had called Lev at the Nest earlier, but he hadn't found it. I really need it for tonight and I'm too busy with reunions all afternoon. Could you come to the company after your work?"_

"Sure. No problem for me."

" _I'll tell the guards at the entrance to let you pass and guide you in the building."_

"Thanks."

" _No, thank you, Bokuto-san. It's really saving me!"_

The phone call ended and Koutarou let out a heavy breath, leaning his head against the car seat. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he realised his hands were shaking. His life as vigilante, as Nite Owl, was slowly eating him whole. He was conscious of it, but he was too far gone to step away and he had no idea how to balance his two lives if he kept feeling like a failure.

As soon as he was done with his job at the Ueno Zoo, Koutarou drove to the Akaashi Company headquarters. It was an international company dealing with the development, making and selling of medical material, from first-aid kits sold in local shops to the biggest machines used in hospitals.

The guards who were watching the entries and exits of the building were waiting for him because they immediately checked his papers and told him where to go. Following their instructions, Bokuto went to the elevator that took him to a high-floor, holding the file Akaashi was waiting for.

The elevator stopped with a happy  _"ding!"_. The moment he stepped out, Koutarou realised he had made a mistake, and he felt extremely out of place. Several people, dressed in suits and cocktail dresses, glanced at him, eying him warily. He was about to step back into the elevator when someone called him:

"Bokuto-san!"

He startled at his name and turned around, reassured to see Akaashi, even though he was dressed for whatever evening event that was happening.

"Akeaaashi! I'm so sorry I came here, I was told to go to the thirty-second floor but I think I took the wrong elevator!" He answered, hurrying towards his friend who smiled.

"No, Bokuto-san, it's fine. That's where you were supposed to come. I was in reunion all afternoon; I have this evening to attend to and I need that file for later. That's why I asked you to come all the way here, despite the…"

He looked up and down his friend.

"…I had assumed you would have changed in clean clothes after your day of work."

"I don't always change when I have nowhere to go after work! You didn't say I needed to change clothes!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"You know what my company looks like, even walking in the offices dressed like that is– is that animal poop on your pants?"

"It's my lunch, and  _that_  is bird poop on my shirt," he answered, almost proudly.

"…Nevermind… thank you for bringing me that file." Akaashi sighed, checking that no paper had fallen out of the file.

"Next time, just tell me that I'll see fancy people…" He mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I should have, indeed. I apologize for making you come all the way here. Do you wish for a drink or some food to thank you?" Akaashi said.

He was already giving a sign to one of the numerous waiters, but Bokuto shook his hands:

"Nah! I'm fine! I'll go home and rest, and take a shower. I stink. I cleaned up the lions' area… and you know what Lev smells like at times."

"…I know, indeed. But you don't have to feel bad about your outfit, you're my friend and I don't care what people will say about your appearance." Akaashi said.

Bokuto glanced around, seeing the guests leaning towards each other, whispering behind papers and fancy drinks, judging him. He didn't care about the words that would be said about him and his appearance, and he knew Akaashi didn't care either… but it reminded him too much of–

Sudden whispers rising from the other side of the wide room distracted people from Bokuto. Both him and Akaashi turned curious gazes towards the crowd that was slowly forming around someone else.

"It's Takahashi-san!"

Akaashi turned at once towards Bokuto whose heart missed a beat. He wanted to turn away and leave this room before he'd see her but the moment she appeared, he froze in his spot, his legs rooted into the floor.

Takahashi Ayaka, born Kanemoto. The love of his life.

"I didn't think she'd come today after…"

Akaashi's voice broke, but his comment hadn't even been heard by Bokuto, starstruck as he was.

Ayaka walked to Adelaide, Akaashi's fiancée, talking for a little while before casually turning around. She froze. Completely unaware of Akaashi standing right here, Ayaka stared at Bokuto from afar, before walking to him.

She was wearing a dark blue dress, her black hair in a complicated updo and her silvery eyes were as radiant as ever. Her body showed the curves of a woman rather than the young girl Koutarou had loved, she looked so much more mature than in his memories but…  _her eyes_. Her eyes were so sad, so dim. Its light, the one he had loved so much, was gone.

"Bokuto… san?" She called in her sweet voice, sounding surprised to see him there.

"I…"

He nodded, breathless, while Akaashi and Adelaide, and the rest of the room stared at them curiously.

"You… you look great," she said with a smile, looking him up and down quickly before her gaze rested on his face. Her eyes twinkled in some sort of amusement as she took notice of his hair. "You dyed your hair? I… it's nice, I like it."

Koutarou stared at her, his heart in his throat. He opened and closed his lips once again, trying to say something,  _anything_ … But he was unable to. He nodded again.

Ayaka stared back at him, an expression he couldn't understand on her face. Her eyes shone, as if a thin layer of tears had covered them.

"Takahashi-san."

Ayaka's assistant touched her shoulder, reminding her of reality. Ayaka turned towards her, swallowing hard, and Koutarou took a deep, shaky breath.

_Right… That's her name now. Takahashi Ayaka_. He remembered.

"We need to see Kawaguchi-san…" Her assistant told her.

"Right… right."

She turned back towards Koutarou, opening and closing her lips. Eyes filled with tears, she forced a smile.

"It was nice seeing you again… Bokuto… san…"

Her voice ended in a whisper and before anyone could say or do anything, she turned around and followed her assistant to go see this Kawaguchi-san.

Koutarou watched her leave, still breathless and his heart beating so hard it felt like it was trying to escape his chest and run after her…

"…Are you… okay?" Akaashi asked hesitantly, "I'm… sorry, I know you didn't want to see her again, but I wasn't expecting her to come after what had happened to her son…"

Koutarou, finally brought back from his dream-like state, turned sharply towards Akaashi.

"What? She… I mean… of course, she has a child… she… she's married, after all… to– to that guy… the son of…"

He let out a heavy breath and Akaashi tightened his lips.

"I never dared ask you what you knew about Ayaka…" He started, glancing quickly at her from afar, discussing affairs with some associate, "Back in Fukurodani, after she left at the end of our first-year of high-school to go to Ouran Academy, she continued her studies. Her family business, the Kanemoto Group was… not doing great. Do you remember the Kanemoto Ruin scandal?"

"Her… older brother, right? He was an athlete and had gotten into drugs, which had almost ruined the entire family, until his father had disowned him, just before Aya– I mean… Kanemoto… san… had started high-school…" Koutarou said, nodding lightly.

"Kanemoto Masaru he… took his life when Ayaka and I were in our fourth year at the Keio Business School. It was a huge blow for the family and her father's health degraded until he died, a year after…"

"I… I saw that… in the newspaper, yeah…" Koutarou answered, lowering his gaze.

"The Kanemoto Group almost collapsed completely. Ayaka's mother and older brother could barely keep it afloat and… then, in order to save the Group, she married the oldest son of the family's closest associate. The Takahashi."

"Takahashi Yuuto… I… also read that in the newspaper." Koutarou added quickly when he noticed Akaashi's surprised gaze.

"Yeah… Takahashi Yuuto. Their son, Kou, was born less than a year after their wedding."

Koutarou turned sharp eyes towards Akaashi, his heart beating hard.

"You never told me she had a son." He said, his tone accusatory.

His friend turned a surprised gaze towards him.

"…You never wanted to hear anything from her. No matter how many times I told you I could get the two of you to get in touch, you refused. I didn't think you even knew anything from the newspaper – but now that I think about it, nothing was shared about Kou's birth. It was Ayaka's choice to keep him safe from the spotlight he'd receive as the Takahashi-Kanemoto heir."

Koutarou didn't answer, his golden eyes staring firmly at Akaashi's face. He felt betrayed he had never heard about it, but he understood why his friend wouldn't tell him anything when  _he_  was avoiding the simple mention of her name. He shouldn't even know about her family's situation or her wedding with Takahashi Yuuto.

"A-and… her son… is…"

Akaashi's expression softened.

"He's a very good boy, he'll turn six years old next March."

Once again, Koutarou stared sharply at Akaashi, feeling his legs turning into jelly…

"S-six… years old… in March?"

Adelaide smiled fondly, leaning forward:

"We never really told you this but… we are his godparents. We used to spend a lot of time with him before–"

Her voice broke, and she glanced at Keiji who took her hand reassuringly.

"What happened?" Koutarou asked in a hard voice, his entire body shaking.

Akaashi hesitated, before taking a deep breath and turning towards him:

"Kou… disappeared, a few months ago, just… after the meteor night…"

Koutarou felt as if a dagger had stabbed his heart, breaking it in thousand pieces.

" _What…?"_  He breathed, air not reaching his lungs anymore.

Addie glanced at her fiancée, worried about their friend's reactions. He was pale and barely breathing.

"It's… unrelated to… everything else. I looked into it already. Kou disappeared just a week or so after the meteor night, so it can't be in relation to the superhumans disappearing."

Koutarou looked away, his chest heaving up and down.

"Takahashi Yuuto hasn't been seen since, his son's disappearance was just… a lot to handle, apparently. And Ayaka…"

Akaashi turned his gaze towards his friend who was smiling and laughing with her associates, but it never reached her eyes.

"She had avoided any social gathering until now, but– Bokuto-san?" he called, surprised, when he saw his friend suddenly hurry towards the closest elevator.

"I– have a good…"

His voice trailed off as the elevator's doors closed behind him.

"What… happened to him?" Akaashi asked, curious and perplexed.

"…He saw Ayaka for the first time in… what? Over ten years? Since his second-year of high-school… And he's had to deal with learning about her wedding to that man  _and_  her son,  _and_  his disappearance… It's a lot to take in, Keiji. He didn't want to be rude but… I think he needs time…" Adelaide told him, caressing his arm reassuringly.

"…Yeah, I guess."

The moment Koutarou stepped out of the elevator, he hurried outside, hoping that fresh air would help him, but it didn't. He didn't notice the strange looks people threw his way – and this time not because he was wearing clothes covered in animal poop. He practically jumped into his car and took his keys, trying desperately to put them into the keyhole to start the engines but he kept missing the hole.

"Come on…" He hissed, "Come on!"

Frustrated, he threw the keys against the car wheel before leaning against it, hyperventilating and feeling burning tears in his eyes.

Seeing Ayaka again was not planned at all. Learning about her son whose existence Akaashi had hidden was… it was  _ground breaking_. He felt like his whole life was falling apart after this evening.

Long minutes later, after he had calmed down, he found the car keys under his seat and started the car, going home and taking a long bath. He tried to sleep and rest, but his mind was full of Ayaka. He couldn't stop seeing her, the sadness she was hiding away with smiles and manners.

Staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, he put a hand on his chest. His heart was beating so hard. Even after so many years, it was so full of love, it still beat for her, and only her…

_Six years ago, Kyoto…_

Koutarou was intensely reading on his phone the article from the Tokyo News about the soon-to-be wedding between Kanemoto Ayaka and Takahashi Yuuto. Tokyo News wasn't just talking about the engagement the two families had just announced, but mostly about the mystery surrounding Kanemoto Masaru ad Kanemoto Akio's deaths and the gradual but certain downfall of the Kanemoto Group, an international conglomerate of sports equipment and sponsorship. Their closest associate had been for years the Takahashi Group which, with this wedding, would ultimately get all the shares from the Kanemoto. The oldest son and heir, the current head and CEO of the Kanemoto Group, Kenta, was sterile which meant that Kanemoto Ayaka's children would be the ones inheriting the Kanemoto Group. Only if there was anything left of it by then… which was why it was necessary for her to marry the heir of the Takahashi. To ensure the future of the Kanemoto Group and its survival after its terrible downfall.

He knew he was just hurting himself but he hated seeing what had become of his high-school crush… More than a crush really, his first love. There had not been another one like Kanemoto Ayaka.

Back in Fukurodani Academy, he had met Ayaka who was a year younger than him, when she had joined the team as a manager. They fell in love. But her father didn't want her falling in love with someone like Bokuto Koutarou who wasn't rich, nor came from a prestigious family, and was lucky he had gotten in this high-school thanks to his volleyball skills. After various rumours surrounding Ayaka's relationships, her refusal to get engaged to some big high-school volleyball player, and pressure from her family, she was sent to an all-girls school, Ouran Academy. He hadn't seen her since. Koutarou knew from Akaashi, his best friend from high-school and Ayaka's classmate back then, that they had met again in Keio Business School. It had to be expected, both were future heads of their respective family businesses. He had even tried to get the two of them to meet and talk but… Koutarou had been too hesitant and he then heard from Adelaide (Akaashi's girlfriend and Ayaka's best friend) that Ayaka herself was reluctant to see him again. It was enough for Koutarou. If she didn't want to see him, then… he wouldn't.

His own Biology studies weren't going very well, and he had no idea what he'd do afterwards. It just happened that four years ago his uncle, who lived in Kyoto and worked in the Kyoto City Zoo, got him the possibility to work there. At first, it was just a summer to try out something new until Koutarou would find something else to do but he really enjoyed his work there. He enjoyed being away from Tokyo and all the memories that were associated with the capital even more. So, once the summer was over, the zoo let him work part-time there while he finished his Biology degree which, now that he had a goal in mind didn't seem so difficult to conclude.

Everyone was starting to get their lives together. All his friends from high-school had gotten jobs, mostly in Tokyo, some had moved in other cities of Japan or even in America or Europe. Some were moving in with their significant others, others were getting married or starting families…

He glanced down at his phone screen, seeing the picture of Ayaka and Takahashi Yuuto from the Tokyo News' article. He seemed pleased with himself, like he had earned the biggest prize at a funfair. She looked like the ghost of the girl Koutarou had fallen in love with. She had been a star and now, her light was dim.

The alarm on his phone rang, reminding him that his break was over. He stood up and decided to chase away all these gloom thoughts by taking care of the animals at the zoo. It wasn't like he had ever had any hope, even back in high-school, of anything happening with Ayaka… and he'd never see her again.

A few days went by at the Kyoto City Zoo, the summer that year being smothering. Even without moving, he was sweating and feeling exhausted – he felt bad for all the animals with their furs and feathers. They were suffering even more than he did.

Because of that heat wave, the zoo wasn't being very popular that summer – people preferred going to the beach, to water-themed attraction parks, swimming pools, even the mountains, anywhere fresh.

So, Koutarou was surprised when he saw someone standing in front of the owls' area. It was a young woman who just stood there despite the sun and the heat at the worst time of the day. He froze when she turned around. He dropped the bucket and tools he had been carrying to clean up the owls' cage.

Silvery eyes met bright gold.

Koutarou's heart beat fast, and Ayaka stared at him, as shocked as he was. He wasn't breathing, he wasn't sure she was breathing either–

"Bokuto… san…?" She called hesitantly, her chest heaving, proving she was struggling as much as he did.

"Aya… I-I mean… Kanemoto… san…" he stammered, glancing around nervously, "You… I…"

"It's been… it's been a while, hasn't it?" She asked, surrounding her body with her arms despite the heat.

"Y-yeah…"

"S-since… high-school… I left at the end of my first year at Fukurodani but you probably don't remember… any of that…" She continued, lowering her gaze.

"How could I forget you?"

She looked up, stunned. Her eyes, wide and brilliant, were as beautiful as he remembered – if not for that broken light. She looked so fragile.

Realizing they had been staring at each other for a long time, Koutarou suddenly bent down, retrieving everything he had dropped and he closed the few meters still separating them with wobbly steps.

"Y-you work here?" She asked, glancing at the 'Kyoto City Zoo' shirt he was wearing.

"Yeah… I… for four years now."

"I… I had heard from Keiji-kun, that you had finished your Biology studies and were working at a zoo but I didn't think it was here…"

"Oh, right. Yeah… um, my uncle works here too. Well, in the management area, not with the animals but… it helped. You… you just graduated too, right? From Keio Business School?" He continued, grasping desperately at any topic of conversation so he could watch her a little longer.

"I did, yes. And I'm–"

Her voice cut and she looked around, looking for words. She took a deep breath before speaking up again, looking right into his eyes:

"Starting next September, I'll help my brother with the Kanemoto Group."

"Oh… I… okay."

There was a pause and, because he didn't want her to leave yet, and because he had nothing else to say, he continued:

"I saw the articles um… on the Tokyo News. About you brother and father and… your… um, your wedding. Congratulations."

"Oh…"

She didn't sound happy, not at all. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and he noticed that she didn't wear any ring. He tried to bury the relief he felt deep in his chest, but when she looked at him, he knew she had understood his feelings.

"Right… my… wedding…" She repeated.

"You… it's probably a stupid question but… do you want this? At all?" He asked, his heart thundering.

"Isn't it obvious that it's an arranged marriage to save the Kanemoto Group?" She mocked, a bitter laugh escaping her, "The newspapers are making sure to remind everyone of it."

There was silence again. They didn't look at each other for a moment, trying to bury the way they felt right now because of this arranged marriage and impromptu meeting in Kyoto. Then, they glanced at each other and the world around them faded away. It was like they were in high-school again, smiling, laughing, encouraging each other. The sweet innocence of first love was giving them warmth and peace. And even though years had gone by and their lives were decided, they couldn't ignore the blooming feeling that still burnt bright in their chests.

"S-so… you… are you… what are you doing here? In Kyoto? I… would have expected you to… organise all that, back in Tokyo," Koutarou said, mentally hitting himself for stupidly talking  _again_  about the arranged marriage she didn't want.

"My mother is taking care of all this. There were many… conditions to which I agreed to this wedding. First of all, my brother is still in charge of the Kanemoto business and I will help him out,  _not_  the Takahashi. Secondly… if I must bind the rest of my life to Yuuto in August, I wanted two months for myself."

"So… you're visiting the… area?"

"I wanted to go somewhere they wouldn't find me, and everyone thinks I've gone in England. No one will look for me in Japan, and… I'm just… I'm free to do whatever I want for now."

She looked around, taking a deep breath.

"I went to Kyoto and thought I'd move around Japan, but… I… really don't know where to go next."

"You could– there are lots of places and nice stuff to see around Kyoto." He said, "I really enjoyed it when I first came here and…"

She looked up at him, her eyes glinting like jewels in the sunlight.

"I… I could take you around… to make you visit everything… if you want, of course," he proposed.

"Thank you, Bokuto-san… I appreciate it…"

Her eyes went down, she seemed hesitant. He knew she was about to say "but" and give an excuse and leave, to never see him again.

"I have to avoid crowded places to be sure my… um, my fiancé's men don't find me. Even though we have an agreement that I should be left in peace, I'm sure he'd want to keep an eye on me."

"Oh… I… my uncle has a house, near Mount Hiei. It's not that far away from here, but you'll be… in a quiet place. And it's very pretty!" He exclaimed, "I could give you the address if you want, this way you'll have peace and you'll be away from everyone and everything…"

He laughed awkwardly, realising how ridiculous he sounded – they hadn't seen each other for almost eight years… and here he was, blushing and stammering like a high-schooler.

Ayaka stared at him, her eyes filling with tears of gratefulness and awe, a smile pulling at her lips. The first smile she had felt in her heart since her brother's death – no, since she had left Fukurodani Academy… Only Bokuto Koutarou had ever managed to make her smile this way and her heart was singing again.

"Bokuto-san… this… this is so nice of you… but why are you being so generous? We… haven't seen each other in  _years_ , you don't have to do this for someone who is… almost a stranger." She said, her voice shaking a little from the emotions.

He looked straight into her eyes, and her heart missed a beat. For the first time in years, she felt alive.

"I… could put this on the excuse that I'm a very kind person, but… truth be told… I'm doing this because I've… because I was in love with you back in high-school, so  _desperately_  in love with you… and I think I still am… and… you deserve better than this…"

A chuckle escaped his lips and he looked away, putting a hand through his dark hair, his cheeks burning after this confession. This fire had nothing to do with the heat wave and his stomach was filled with butterflies and that was  _so embarrassing,_  but he couldn't bring himself to regret a single word.

Ayaka's own breathless chuckle made him look just in time to see her bright smile and her hand wiping a tear away.

"Will you… will you keep me company, then?" She asked, her eyes shining, "I could… need a friend to keep me company…"

Koutarou barely had to think about the answer, he nodded, his heart in his throat, eager and afraid of what this meant.

Maybe the heat was the reason why they took such a harsh and sudden decision, without thinking of the consequences. They knew they'd probably bite their lips in the future looking back at this moment. But they would not regret a second they'd spend together.

Koutarou took a sudden holiday, which with the little amount of visitors at the Zoo wasn't much of a problem. His uncle left him the keys to the little house lost at the foot of the Mount Hiei and two days later, he and Ayaka were driving there.

The house was small and lost in the forest and he guided her through the various paths on the mountain side, through the trees. He taught her what his uncle had taught him before and what he had learned on his own about the animals of the forest, the way to track them, how to listen to the whispers of nature all around… He told her about how, whenever he came here, he loved walking at night, sitting somewhere and listening to the owls hooting. He took her to the Enryaku-ji monastery for a visit…

They lost count of the number of times they glanced at each other, got lost into each other's eyes, or how often their fingers brushed. Eventually, with the excuse of helping keep her steady, they started holding hands. She started leaning against him whenever they'd take a break. They'd breath in each other's scents, muffled by the fragrance of the forest. When they kissed for the first time, it was soft and natural. It tasted like peace and love.

Koutarou immediately pulled away, looking the other way.

"We… we shouldn't, you… you're engaged to someone else…" He murmured, closing his eyes at the thought, his heart breaking.

"You knew that when we met, you knew that when we came here…" She breathed, lowering her gaze.

Their entwined hands tightened. Their hearts beat even faster.

"I have a month and a half left of freedom… I am free to do what I want, go where I want… and…"

Koutarou glanced at her, his golden eyes even more beautiful in this landscape of shades of green. For the first time in years, she wanted to paint again. She wanted to paint  _him_ , his beautiful eyes in this perfect moment, away from the world and everything.

"…And I am free to love whoever I want…" She whispered, her trembling fingers caressing his cheeks and his lips.

He took her hand in his, squeezing tight and kissing her fingers tenderly.

"But… I would understand if you don't want to get any closer to me when our lives… are already decided, and we aren't fated to be together." She said, her voice breaking.

She started moving away but his hold on her hands kept her where she was.

"…A month and a half." He said, leaning down to press his forehead against hers, "A month and a half, then we go back to our old lives…"

His voice was warm, low and his breath tasted like honey. Ayaka nodded wordlessly, her heart breaking at the idea of ever separating from him. But he kissed her, and they forgot about everything, even how little time they had left together.

They spent most of their time walking through the forest, smiling, laughing, discovering each other and falling in love all over again. They were making love every night, for hours and hours of blissful forgetfulness. They would never forget the way their eyes would shine in the night, illuminated only by the moonlight.

When Koutarou had to go back to Kyoto, Ayaka went with him and, not caring anymore about the consequences of their actions, she visited Kyoto while he was working at the zoo. He presented her every animal and their habits. The days turned into weeks that got them closer and closer, until the day Ayaka would have to leave for Tokyo, back to her old and dreadful life. They were desperately,  _greedily_ , holding onto every instant, every minute spent together, in silence or in laughter, making love or watching the other sleep.

Koutarou came back from work the day he knew she was gone. He hadn't expected to see her shoes when he came home. Immediately, he shakily took off his and hurried into the small living-room. She was sitting on the chair, watching from the window, her chin leaning onto the palm of her hand. When she heard him, she turned around and he couldn't breathe. The sun was illuminating her face, turning her silvery eyes into galaxies, her black and unruly hair was even worst than usual. Dust particles were floating all around and there were wet streaks of tears against her cheeks.

He would never forget this sight.

Despite the hope he had felt when he had seen her shoes, it died right here and then. He knew she had made a decision long before seeing him again, and would stand by it. But  _it hurt_ …

"…You train… it was this morning…" He said, voice weak.

"You left, without waking me up… without saying  _goodbye_ ," she answered in a broken, but accusatory voice.

"I…"

He lowered his face and she stood up, quickly joining him. Her hands were cold against his sun-kissed skin. She lifted his face so they could look into each other's eyes, despite the sadness, despite the hurt.

"I can't leave without… saying goodbye… it's too cruel, even if we knew it from the beginning…" She murmured.

"…Do you regret it?" He asked, his fingers caressing the back of her hands, and her arms to her shoulders.

"Never," she answered without hesitation and he knew that no matter what, he couldn't afford to have any regret either, "I  _hate_  the life I've had for the past eight years, I  _hate_  the life that's waiting for me… and I  _hate_  that it's keeping me away from you, from  _us_ …"

Her fingers caressed his cheeks, his lips, trying to memorize every curve, every shape, before she got lost into his eyes once again.

"But the little time we had together is the happiest time that I ever had, and I will cherish  _every minute_  spent with you until the end of my life…"

He clenched his jaws, burning tears filling his eyes.

"Koutarou… promise me… promise me that you'll move on, that you'll fall in love with someone else and you'll be happy… okay?"

"How can I do that when I know  _you_  are unhappy in this arranged marriage with this…  _this_ …"

"I won't be able to live through this if I don't know  _you're_  happy.  _Please_ , promise me you'll move on and be happy, even without me in your life."

Her hands grabbed his face, trying to force him to promise, to give him the strength they'll both need.

He took her wrists in his hands again and slowly, regretfully, he pulled them away from his face. He kissed them tenderly, eyes closed. When he looked back into her eyes, silent tears rolled down his cheeks. She knew the expression of despair and infinite hurt on his face reflected hers.

"You're the love of my life…" He breathed out, his chest feeling like it was being torn apart.

More tears filled her eyes and after a sobbing gasp, she surrounded her arms around his shoulders and they buried their faces into each other's necks. They held onto each other, so tightly they felt like they were merging together. They wished it were possible.

"And you're mine…" She answered, a sob strangling her.

He didn't remember promising anything, just like she didn't promise anything. They didn't remember any kiss, they didn't remember any goodbye… Suddenly, she was just  _gone_  and he was sitting, alone, in his living room.

He watched by the window, the particles of dust flying around until the sun was gone. And only then, like the ghost of his Ayaka was gone for good, he sobbed and cried in the night, mourning the future he had lost with her. The future and a part of his heart and soul had left with Ayaka, back in Tokyo, just like she had left some of her with him.

A month later, he saw the article from Tokyo News, about the wedding between Kanemoto Ayaka and Takahashi Yuuto. When Akaashi called him two days later, Koutarou asked about Ayaka. It was the one and only time he allowed himself to ask him about her…

" _How is she?"_

He didn't have any more voice after this single question.

" _She's fine. She smiled several times during the ceremony."_  Akaashi had answered.

His heart broke, but Akaashi had remained the entire time over the phone, bearing the silence and respecting the echoes of sobs he heard over the phone.

Koutarou never had the courage to ask again to Akaashi anything relating to Ayaka even though the question burnt his lips every single time. He never had the heart to tell anyone, not even Kuroo or Akaashi, about these two months spent with Ayaka in Kyoto. It was a memory too precious, too fragile and too painful to share with anyone. It belonged to Ayaka and Koutarou, no one else.

Half a year later, unable to handle the weight of Ayaka's memory everywhere in Kyoto, he left for Tokyo. It was supposed to be temporary, until he found another job, in another city. But spending time with his friends after so many years, being back in the capital after so much time away, he realised that it was different.  _He_  was different, his friends were different. The memory he had of Tokyo from high-school and his first two years of university felt distant and blurry, like it belonged to another life. It now felt like the burning city of opportunities and even though he convinced himself he didn't feel this way, every day he woke up with the hope that perhaps, he might see Ayaka at the Ueno Zoo, or anywhere else in Tokyo.

He never met her again, he never heard from her again. Not until that evening at the Akaashi Group headquarters.

Koutarou woke up startled, drenched from sweat at the weight of his memories. He could still see Ayaka so clearly. When he had seen her for the first time at the Kyoto Zoo all these years ago, those bright silvery eyes in the night whenever they had made love, that moment she had looked at him for the last time, bathed by the setting sun and surrounded by particles of dust. And the way she had moved around through the crowd of that evening dinner, beautiful as the dawn, bright as a star, but sad and broken…

Ayaka's son, almost six-years old, had disappeared. He had disappeared months ago, just after the meteor night… Akaashi had said it was unrelated but… but Koutarou couldn't stay there. He needed to know more. About this boy's disappearance, about–

In the middle of the night, unable to rest, Koutarou stood up, got dressed and left for the Nest. Lev was sleeping and there was no one else. Trying to remain as discreet as possible, he started looking for information. As much as he could find with the little knowledge he had of Kenma's computer, but he found his way around.

It didn't take long for Bokuto to figure out that indeed, Akaashi had looked into this, with the help of Kenma. And they had both chosen to keep it a secret from him – he knew they were all aware of his past with Ayaka, but… but he wasn't just Bokuto Koutarou, it wasn't just about himself. It was also Nite Owl's duty to help as many as possible and Ayaka's son had disappeared  _because_  of the meteor night. Koutarou was certain of it, he couldn't tell  _why_  when his friends had found no link whatsoever between his disappearing and the meteor night but…  _he_   _knew_. This boy, and Ayaka, both needed his help.

Knowing everything he could gather from the computer's data, he stood up and pressed his hand against the screen. The floor opened to lead him underground and he quickly changed into his Nite Owl's outfit. When he appeared out of the floor again, he stopped, facing Lev.

"What are you doing?" He asked, glancing around.

The werelion noticed the notes taken on paper, and he was clever enough to understand that there was a reason why Bokuto hadn't called anyone of the team.

"I'm… just going for a quick patrol. I couldn't sleep." He explained with a casual shrug.

But Lev frowned and took the first paper on which the hero had scribbled down some information.

"Who is Ayaka?" He asked.

Nite Owl snatched the paper from his hand, gathered the rest and closed all the tabs on the computer.

"No one. It's nothing. You didn't see me. Okay?" Nite Owl said in a harsh voice.

Lev startled and stepped away, nodding reluctantly. The hero felt bad for treating him that way, but he shook his head and went to take his Nite Bike, clenching tightly the address he had written down on that small piece of paper.

According to the police that had investigated on the boy's disappearance, he just went away, probably in the garden to play, and wasn't found for hours afterwards. The whole neighbourhood had been searched, nearby camera recordings were checked but nothing was found. As far as they could tell, he hadn't even stepped out of the house when he went missing. But what intrigued Bokuto even more was what happened afterwards: the two parents barely saw anyone after their son's disappearance. It'd make sense that they were grieving but… Koutarou just didn't like any of this.

He stopped his Nite Bike in front of the house. It was smaller than he would have imagined that rich family to have. But it was still in the best neighbourhood of Tokyo, two floors, very modern and spacious. It looked so peaceful it gave him chills.

Nite Owl used the technology developed by BB-5 and controlled by the monitor on his forearm to try to locate any surveillance devices around the house. Without surprise, there were cameras and a system against break-ins. He pulled from his tool belt a little gadget that emanated magnetic waves and made all these devices useless. As soon as the dot was green, he took three steps backwards, made a run-up and jumped over the wall.

He landed in front of the house and went into the garden, starting his investigation there but he didn't find anything. He went back towards the house and easily picked the back door lock. He entered the kitchen, it was clean and nothing seemed out of place. He then went into the living-room, tidy and spacious.

Everything was clean, and he noticed the toys all pushed in the corners, as if the very sight of them was a reminder of the boy's absence.

He was about to go upstairs when he noticed several photographs on a book shelf. He approached the pictures, his heart clenching painfully. There were many pictures of Ayaka with her family, before her brother had become the Kanemoto Ruin, when they were happy. There was one photography, upside down, that wasn't in a picture frame. He picked it up and his heart missed a beat.

It was a picture from his second year of high-school, when Ayaka and Akaashi were in their first year. It was a picture taken with the entire volleyball team, when they were making funny faces. Ayaka was laughing too hard to make one – and he realised, seeing this picture for the first time in his life, that he had been too busy watching her laugh to make the funny face.

He put the picture back where it had been, and noticed two more frames. Both were put down. The first one was a picture of Ayaka on her wedding day with Takahashi Yuuto. Koutarou couldn't even stare at the picture long enough and he immediately put it away. He checked the other photography… and an emotion he couldn't describe tugged at his heart.

It was Ayaka and her son, both grinning, their eyes happy. It must have been a recent picture because he looked five years old or so. He had messy black hair, like Ayaka's, and… his eyes weren't silvery like Ayaka's, nor dark like Yuuto's. They were light brown, almost golden.

Koutarou swallowed hard, putting down the picture. He shouldn't jump to conclusions. Even if the timing was a little too perfect, even if–

A gasp behind him made him whip around and once again, for the second time that night, his heart missed a beat and he froze completely. Ayaka was right here, her eyes wide in shock to see an intruder into her house. She was frozen in fear, even if it was Nite Owl, even if she should know he was a hero.

Then, suddenly, she seemed to realise she might be in danger and turned around, running away.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Nite Owl exclaimed, running after her.

He couldn't have her wake up her husband, or whatever bodyguard might be here. If word got out that Nite Owl was sneaking into people's house, he might get discredited as a noble hero!  _Worst!_  Akashi would  _kill_  him!

Ayaka started running up the stairs but he grabbed her arm. She screamed and tried to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around her to make sure she wouldn't get hurt.

"HELP! Someone! HELP!" She shouted, trying to kick him and get away.

"Ssssh! Shh! I'm not going to hurt you! I swear! I'm not going to hurt you!" He said in her ear, trying to shush his voice.

He covered her mouth with a hand just as she calmed down. Or at least, stopped screaming. Her chest was heaving up and down in panic and she was shaking. She looked at him, her eyes wide and frightened, filled with tears – he hated seeing that look on her face.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I swear." He repeated, feeling her raspy breathing against his hand, "I'm Nite Owl, I'm here… I'm here to help…"

Her brows furrowed and he put her down on the stairs.

"I'm going to let you go, but don't wake anyone up, or I'll get in trouble," he said, slowly letting go of her and lifting his hands to show he wouldn't do anything.

Ayaka stepped away, almost slipped down on the stairs but he caught her arm. She kept staring at him, in complete shock. She glanced at the hand that held her arm, that had saved her from her panicked clumsiness. She seemed even more confused than a moment before, so he let go of her. To prove his good intentions, Nite Owl went down one more step – even if it was practically useless to run away from him in such a small space.

Ayaka kept staring at him, then she let herself fall down, sitting on the stairs.

"You… you're… you're Nite Owl… right?" She asked in a shaky voice.

" _Who_  else?" He asked with a grin, hoping the lame pun would help her relax.

She only seemed even more distraught. She used to love his stupid puns.

He glanced up the stairs nervously, hoping no one would have been woken up by the screams– it was actually surprising no one had reacted…

Ayaka shook her head, attracting his attention on her:

"There's… there's no one else… I… I screamed because I was scared…"

"Oh…"

He blinked, then looked at her.

"No offense but… um, shouldn't there be other people living here?"

_Your family_. He corrected in his mind.

Her lips tightened and her expression hardened.

"No. It's… it was just me and my son… M-my… my husband lives somewhere else."

"Oh… I-I see…"

He paused, swallowing hard, and spoke up again:

"Your son… I… I heard about his… um, disappearance. And I'm… investigating on all the missing people." He said.

"He's… his disappearance has nothing to do with that, he went missing…"

Her voice trailed off and she looked away, trying to control her voice.

"He went missing before all these other people, before even the appearance of the… the superhumans…" She finished, glancing at him from head to toe.

"Right… but it was  _after_  the meteor night?"

"Y-yes, about… a week or so after… I… we were… we were at my husband's house, actually. We shouldn't have gone there that day…" She breathed.

"Could you tell me more, about the exact circumstances of your son's disappearance?" He asked, trying to soften his voice.

Ayaka turned towards him, her eyes turning sharper. She suddenly stood up, standing several feet above him because of the stairs. She was trembling but she clenched her fists and looked fiercer than he ever saw her.

He fell in love with her again.

"Who are you? Why do you care?" She asked in a hard, commanding voice, "If you are investigating on the missing people… you're in the wrong house. My son didn't go missing because of some meteor or a broken satellite, or whatever the NASA and governments tried to sell it as! It has nothing to do with superhumans and whatever our society is becoming! He went missing because–"

Her voice broke, she took several deep breaths, her eyes filling with tears once again.

"He went missing because of  _me…!"_

Nite Owl stared at her sorrowfully, as she looked away and wiped her tears. Before he could say a thing though, she turned back towards him, and stepped down to push him away even though she definitely didn't have the strength to make him move. He followed her lead though, all the way down the stairs, her pushing hands turning into fists punching his chest. She was angry and sad, not against him, but against herself. He didn't move and let her let out the steam, furious tears rolling down her cheeks.

"My son is gone and it's my fault! There's nothing you, or the police, or anyone can do to help! So get out of my house! Never show up again!" She shouted.

She jumped against him, trying to push him away but he was a wall. Realizing it was useless, she breathed hard, staring at his chest and started lowering her head. Sobs shook her shoulders.

Gently, Nite Owl wrapped his hands around her wrists, making her look up in surprise. Her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"I don't believe it," he simply said, "Regardless of how strange your words are to say that it was your fault, I don't believe it. The circumstances around his disappearances are too strange. I… I have a feeling his disappearance is related to the events of the meteor night. I can't let that feeling go until I am certain he… he is… until I'm  _certain_  he's just an unlucky boy."

Ayaka stared at him, then she pulled her hands away from him, holding them near her chest. She kept staring at him, frowning and frightful – but he wasn't the one scaring her…

"What's your name…?" She asked in a low voice.

His breathing became more difficult.

"I'm– I'm Nite Owl…" He answered.

"You–"

Her voice broke and she approached him again. Her hand almost brushed his face, but she stopped at the last moment.

She had had a feeling ever since he had showed up – his voice, the way he talked, the way he touched her… It was familiar. But those eyes… now that he had stepped all the way into the path of the moonlight…  _She knew those eyes_.

Nite Owl swallowed hard, as if he reached the same conclusions she did. Her eyes had softened and only one woman had ever given him that look.

"Tell me more about what happened…  _please_ …" He said, his voice almost begging.

Ayaka took a long moment to breathe and gather her thoughts, then she nodded wordlessly. She moved to the nearest table, where there was a picture of a baby – her son, he guessed.

"H-his name is… his name is Kou." She said.

Koutarou's heart missed a beat, his entire body feeling too heavy. But Nite Owl nodded to encourage her to continue.

"T-that day… we went to see my husband in his house. B-because… it's complicated but our marriage isn't– we try to spend as little time as possible together. But for Kou's sake we… anyway. Kou and I went there, like every Wednesday after Kou's volleyball practice…"

She glanced at the hero, a small smile appearing on her face.

"He took after… he took after his– um, uncle…" She explained briefly, "Anyway… we went there, like every Wednesday but… Yuuto was… he was  _upset_. By something, but I don't know what… He wouldn't talk to me, nor Kou, and he locked himself into his office. It annoyed me so much I… I went for a walk. Alone."

Nite Owl immediately reacted to that.

"None of the police reports said that."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"How could I tell them I had left my son in this house, with my husband…? And went away so easily? I… I assumed he'd be safe… that no one would hurt him…"

"But when you came back…"

"He was gone." She admitted, tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugged herself, "I looked for him  _everywhere_ , but I couldn't find him. I asked Yuuto who didn't know and… I went into the entire neighbourhood, I called his friends' parents, his godparents but…  _he was gone_."

A sob strangled her, she covered her mouth with her hand, closing her eyes.

"And it's my fault, if I hadn't left the house–"

"Hey… it's not your fault…" Nite Owl said, as reassuring as he could be, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Whatever happened… it happened during your absence–"

"But I'm his mother! A parent is supposed to  _always_  be here for their child! I shouldn't have been gone!" Ayaka exclaimed.

He froze. Their eyes met. She swallowed hard.

"What… what does your husband have to say about it? What does he know?" He asked to hide his sudden discomfort, he had stepped away from her once again.

"H-he was working the entire time… he didn't hear anything strange, no scream, nothing. The police said they checked the camera recordings, but no one was seen coming in or out of the house… and I had taken a back door and gone another way, that's… that's why they never knew I…"

"That other door, does it lead anywhere? Would there be any camera around?" He asked.

She shook her head, confused.

"It's always locked, to make sure Kou won't go there and I had the key with me. It leads directly into a park."

"Give me the exact location," he ordered, already typing on his forearm.

She opened and closed her lips but before he could get any information, the screen on his forearm suddenly lit up, and a name appeared. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before answering the call, turning away from Ayaka.

"Y-yeah, BB-5? What are you doing up so late?"

" _Don't give me that crap, Bokuto. Lev just called me, telling me you had gone somewhere without telling anyone, as_ _ **Nite Owl**_ _. What are you doing?"_

"I'm just doing some patrolling," he answered in a hushed voice.

" _I know your location, you're inside someone's house. I don't even need to check to know who it is. Why are you in Takahashi Ayaka's house?"_

"How do you know that?!"

He immediately glanced over his shoulder at the woman who was observing him closely.

" _There's a GPS in your costume, you idiot! How do you think I can help you out if I can't keep up on your location?! But that's not the point, if it's about Ayaka's child, we already looked into this and it's not something that concerns_ _ **you**_ _. You take care of helping out the passerby and stopping dangerous superhumans…! Leave that missing kid to the police! Just because it's your high-school crush doesn't mean you have to concern yourself with it!"_

"It's… it's personal! I can't let that go!"

" _It's because it is personal that you need to step away!"_

"You don't understand–"

" _No, YOU don't understand! You're only hurting yourself, giving her hopes, you just want to be her hero in shining armour! The investigation was done, the kid is gone, let it go! I'm calling Akaashi–"_

Nite Owl ended the call, and because he had an idea of where the tracker was, he pulled out the monitor on the forearm of his costume. Kenma would be even more pissed but he couldn't waste time.

He whipped towards Ayaka:

"I'm going to find your son. I can't let that go, okay? But I need you to tell me where that other house is. I have too many addresses and I won't have time to look at every single one."

"I'm going with you." She said.

"What?! NO! You're staying here, safe!"

"Do you really think you can enter that easily into my husband's house? He's got guards, and dogs, watching every entrance. I have the key! If I order them to stay away, they'll listen to me!  _You?_  Not so much."

She stared into his eyes, determined to go with him, and help him out. Nite Owl opened and closed his lips, lifting up his hand, trying to find a good argument.

"Besides… I can't stay here and do nothing when my son's fate is concerned." She added, "I'm going to get dressed. Wait here!"

Before he could say anything, she ran up the stairs to get changed. Once again, he tried to say something but it was too late. Her stubbornness had won again. When she re-appeared, she was wearing casual clothes and he kept his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'll let you come, but  _only_  because I might need help getting around the house and it'll help to have you, who was there that day. If I tell you to go away because I sense the slightest bit of danger, you run and you call… call a friend."

"A friend? Not the police?" She asked, tilting her head on a side.

"…The police can't do anything against superhumans.  _He_ … has the means." Nite Owl told him, giving her a phone number written on a piece of paper.

She stared at it, before tightening her lips and nodding.

"But… a superhuman…? It's…"

Her voice trailed off as they walked towards the Nite Bike.

"The police said it was unrelated."

"Yeah? Well, like I said, the police doesn't know shit about superhumans. I  _do_." He said, sitting on his bike and starting the engines, "Powers appear after a week or so following the meteor night. And your husband hasn't shown his face much since, hasn't he?" He asked, looking at her.

She swallowed hard, understanding his line of thoughts even if she didn't like it. She climbed behind him, putting her hands on his sides as he started to drive. The number of times she had put her hands on him, his skin was tingling from the memory. And yet… she couldn't know who he was. And he couldn't say anything…

He was Nite Owl. Not Bokuto Koutarou. He had a duty towards the mother who was grieving for her missing son, not the love of his life.

They arrived at the house, much bigger, much fancier and a whole lot more protected. There were two guards with dogs at the front but even though they glared threateningly at Nite Owl, because the mistress of the house was here, they let them through.

"Where is my husband?" She asked one of them.

"We don't know, ma'am. He stays inside. We know he works a lot." He answered.

"…You all stay outside the house, and let us handle everything. Is that understood?" She continued.

They hesitated, glancing at Nite Owl, before nodding.

"Yes, ma'am…"

"Anything strange that would make you suspicious?" The hero asked.

They didn't say anything until Ayaka narrowed her eyes at them, silently ordering them to answer the question.

"…Takahashi-sama doesn't allow anyone anywhere except the kitchen. The maids only come to prepare food."

"…Weird." Nite Owl commented as he realised that all the curtains were pulled.

"Mmm. Let's go." Ayaka decided.

She entered the house without trouble, and she eyed around suspiciously. It was a little dusty, but…

"What's all that…?" She asked outloud, approaching the closest furniture.

"I know you guys are rich but isn't it a little over the top?" Nite Owl asked when he noticed the amount of golden furniture laying around, even the couch was made in golden threads.

She turned towards him, frowning.

"We… don't own anything made of gold? I don't understand where it all comes from, it's… it looks exactly like it used to… but…"

She passed her hand over some books. She took them out of the shelf, the covers were golden, but the pages had remained the same.

"It's not heavy or anything, it's just… it looks like gold." She commented.

"You never noticed anything?" He asked.

She looked straight at him, as if insulted by his words.

"The last few months were…  _hard_. I didn't come back here for obvious reasons. And he… never bothered to check on me. Once the investigation was over, we… stayed our separate ways."

He noticed how stiff her body had become, how she seemed to close off every time he mentioned her husband. She put the book back onto the shelf and he noticed that her hands were shaking.

"…Has he ever hurt you?" He asked, his voice hard.

Ayaka turned towards him, swallowing but her gaze was unflinching. It was the life she had accepted, and she refused any pity from him or anyone else.

"He never broke my heart," she said with a helpless shrug, "It never was his to begin with anyway, it… belongs to someone else. And he never forgave me for…"

Once again, she hugged herself. Nite Owl narrowed his eyes and wondered how many bruises or scars he'd see on her body.

"He may have never broken your heart, but… he  _did_  hurt you, hasn't he?" He concluded, rage flowing through his veins.

She closed her eyes. There was no need for an answer.

"Who broke your heart?" He asked, even though he knew the answer and he hated himself for that.

" _Myself_. By making the wrong choice years ago. But it's all in the past now." She said, starting to go upstairs.

He followed her in silence. They passed by a door, turned gold, and they could hear loud snoring. Ayaka made a disgusted face and continued until they arrived into a big office. More than just an office, it seemed like a living space of its own, with a couch, table, shelves, even a big wardrobe. And everything, absolutely  _everything_  was a blinding gold.

"…I… I haven't stepped in here since…"

Ayaka's eyes filled with tears, then she slowly looked up at Nite Owl.

"If… if I had bothered coming here… just  _once_ … I might know… I might have found out about Kou sooner… what has he done to my son…?"

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"We still don't know what happened to him. We can still find him."

He went to the computer, typing around it but he kept getting blocked by passwords. He was about to use BB-5's help but he remembered he had broken his monitor. Ayaka pushed him aside and started typing, knowing all the passwords, all the accesses.

"I… thought you two weren't close… You share passwords?" He asked, a hint of annoyance and jealousy in his voice.

"We don't. He… doesn't know I know his passwords, though." She answered, "It's his lover's birthday."

He glanced at her just as she frowned at the screen. He leaned forward, seeing a series of numbers and transactions.

"…He's been selling and gaining a lot of money recently…" She noticed.

"Must be the gold. He's trying to get even richer. What a filthy pig… Sorry."

"It's fine… There is also a lot of money that's been given away… With all the missing people, the staff has been reduced and we had to hire more. But, it doesn't explain any of that…"

"Those are pretty big numbers, what is it?" He asked, pointing at some transactions.

"He gave money to…"

She stopped talking as the details of the transaction came up. Nite Owl read over her shoulder, frowning.

"The army. Washijou… why does that name sound familiar…? Wait, wait! He's… he's the guy who is controlling the Shiratorizawa Special Force and the police.  _Why_  would they receive money from Takahashi?"

Ayaka clicked on several other transactions.

"He gave a lot of money to that Shiratorizawa Special Force, but also some private group called Itachiyama? I don't understand. He never had any contact with the army, as far as I know…"

"Itachiyama isn't the army. It's a group of yakuza." Nite Owl said in a hard voice, "They've been dealing with superhuman trafficking lately. My… um, team and I are trying to stop them but they're  _very_  good at covering up their tracks."

"I-I had no idea such things were happening…! I swear! I…"

"It's okay, I believe you."

She clicked on another transaction, which was a fairly recent one.

"Wait–" Nite Owl said, "Oikawa Tooru? He received money from Takahashi too?"

He took the computer mouse from Ayaka, getting the details.

"…So he's the one who hired Oikawa to hunt down Hoshiumi…" He mumbled to himself, before remembering a detail he had heard from Kuroo afterwards, "…And Hoshiumi's body was almost immediately taken away by Shiratorizawa."

"I don't know what Yuuto has been doing, but I have nothing to do with any of this." Ayaka said.

"I know, it just… I need all the information from this computer. I might be able to find out the truth about Shiratorizawa's goals, or where Itachiyama is hiding, or… maybe even what really happened the night of the meteor…"

He felt a new rush of blood through his veins. He took out from his utility belt the USB drive that automatically took all the information from anywhere it was plugged into but before he could get anything, they heard a sound. They whipped around, someone was coming. Ayaka panicked but Nite Owl turned off the computer and grabbed her arm. He looked around and she pointed at a big and modern wardrobe. It had some fancy suits in it, but mostly papers and various stuff accumulated. They both hid in it, tangled in the clothes just as the door of the office opened.

Nite Owl wanted to have a look at what was going on but there was no opening. Also, Ayaka was pressed against him and it was distracting. He looked around, if there was some trouble she'd be in danger. He hadn't seen it in action, but he was willing to bet that Takahashi was a superhuman and had the power of turning things into gold. But was it at the touch, a beam, another way?

Nite Owl leaned down, to whisper into Ayaka's ear, as quietly as possible.

"I need you get as far back into the wardrobe as possible and stay there no matter what, until I tell you it's safe, okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining in fear as she realised he was about to get into a fight to stop Takahashi… and keep him away from the wardrobe where she was hiding. She nodded without a word and carefully stepped backwards, through the clothes. There should be enough space for her to hide but she suddenly startled. Nite Owl glanced at her curiously as she looked behind her.

She gasped and her mouth gaped. She was about to scream but he covered her mouth, pulling her against his chest. The clothes now pulled away they could see what was in the back of the wardrobe. A golden statue, of a six years old boy, lifting up his hands defensively, a frightened look on his face. Takahashi Kou, Ayaka's son.

Her body shook violently, her sobs and whines of distress and pain smothered by Nite Owl's trembling hand. Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, and wetted his skin, even through his gloves.

"Shh, shh… I'm here…" He murmured to her.

He used his other hand to cover her eyes and she turned around, hiding her face into his chest, sobbing and hyperventilating. He still tried to get her to stay quiet, even though his own heart was torn apart. He couldn't look away from the golden boy, innocent and frightened.

Ayaka calmed down. It was so sudden, he worried she had passed out but she was just… there, limp, motionless and her eyes dead. She couldn't look into the direction of her son. When he let go of her, she just fell on her knees in the wardrobe.

He was about to try to comfort her when, in her moves, it made some clothes and a box fall over. The sound was smothered but loud enough that on the other side of the door, all noises suddenly stopped. Nite Owl looked up, knowing that the absence of sound meant that Yuuto had realised there might be something, or someone, in that wardrobe.

Deciding not to wait for a possible dangerous outcome, especially with Ayaka right here, Nite Owl kicked open the door. It flew off and fell on a round man with nasty eyes. He fell backwards with a scream. The hero didn't wait for him to recover and immediately punched him in the face – that felt really good knowing everything he had done to his Ayaka.

Like every superhuman, he could handle a punch, even if he gasped and fell on the floor again. But the moment Nite Owl's hand had touched the man's skin his glove had turned into gold. He stopped, staring at the fabric slowly turning gold. It wasn't heavier, it was the same sort of fabric, but it was now a shiny gold.

"And… what is Nite Owl doing in my house?" Takahashi Yuuto asked in a hissing voice, slowly standing up.

He was wearing golden clothes and he grinned badly seeing the hero's astonishment at his power. His small, black eyes turned towards the wardrobe. He narrowed his gaze at Ayaka who had looked up to watch the scene, even if her eyes, shining with tears, were also burning with pure rage. Nite Owl slowly stepped in front of her, to protect her from Takahashi, but to make sure she wouldn't jump at him and turn into gold. It turned cloth fabric into gold so easily, and after seeing what had become of Kou, he had a pretty good, and frightening, idea of what would happen to a human touching Takahashi Yuuto's skin.

" _You_ … you had to get help from that vigilante? Really?" he continued, "You never learned your place, did you?"

Nite Owl clenched his teeth but Ayaka was the one to speak, her voice shaking in vengeful ire.

"What have you done to my son?" She hissed.

Yuuto stared at her, the slightest flicker of emotion in his eyes, before he became a snarling bastard again.

"He didn't listen to me, like usual. Like his  _mother_. I told him to stay away, but he didn't and decided to enter my office  _anyway_."

"You were just discovering your powers, weren't you?" Nite Owl said, attracting the villain's attention back on him.

"…I didn't think– I didn't  _know_ …"

Yuuto clicked his tongue in annoyance, turning his head away. The realization hit Ayaka like a truck.

"You were hitting him…  _you_ – Kou always said he was getting bruises from school but  _you–"_

She tried to surge at him, hands out to attack him, but Nite Owl stopped her with one arm.

"We had an agreement! You left him alone! You took it out on ME but you left him  _alone!"_  She screeched.

Nite Owl grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide as he realised that part of the reason why she was being hit by her husband was because of an  _agreement_  to keep her son safe from him.

"He deserved it! I only hit him when he was doing something stupid! When he wasn't listening to me! The usual itch that anyone would get from an annoying kid!"

"He's your  _son!"_

"Is he?!"

Ayaka stopped struggling against Nite Owl, staring at her husband. She shook but didn't deny it. The untold truth of the last six years.

"You think I'm that stupid?! That I didn't know you had fucked someone else just before our wedding?!  _Two months of freedom_ – I was amiable enough to give you that! But I didn't think you'd bring back a bastard child as a souvenir!" He hissed, pointing an accusing finger at her, "You think I didn't realise it when you announced you were pregnant, just a few weeks after the wedding?! You think I never heard you cry for another at night?! You think I didn't see another man's features when I held him for the first time?! All these nights when you held him, and  _cried_ – you thought I wasn't around but I  _heard_  you talk to him about his  _real father_  because you knew that as long as he was a baby, it was the only time you could tell him the truth!"

Yuuto breathed hard, before calming down.

"You know what? I was glad to hit him. And remind him that he was  _nothing_  for me. The day I turned him into gold? That was particularly joyful to me. Do you want to know why,  _Ayaka?"_

He took a step forward, glaring at her viciously but Nite Owl forced her away, still shielding her.

"Because I didn't have to see another man's child every day of my life. Because it opened doors for me!"

He spread out his hands, staring at his fingers in awe.

"What happened to me was a gift! To help me get rid of you all and start a new life! I don't even need your money or your Group anymore!"

"…Because you're investing in a new form of business, isn't it? You help finance the army and the yakuza groups who do human trafficking… and in exchange, they let you do whatever you want, even if it means… hurting people?" Nite Owl concluded, his golden eyes sharp.

Takahashi stared at him, as if he remembered only now that the hero was here and listening. Then, neither confirming nor denying the accusations of Nite Owl, he chuckled darkly.

"Are  _you_  the one fucking my wife now?"

Nite Owl clenched his jaw and fists. But once again, Takahashi turned towards Ayaka to hiss at her accusingly:

"I hope you two had a good time, Ayaka, because I'm going to do what I should have done months ago!"

She didn't even have time to frown at his words that he surged forward. Nite Owl pushed her backwards, using more strength than necessary as she fell into furniture but he didn't have time to worry about her. He used his own strength and his shield to hit the villain who was thrown backwards. His entire shield turned into gold. Nite Owl jumped forward and punched him again but this time, he was expecting it. He lifted up his hand and stopped his fist. But Nite Owl's strength was greater and Yuuto's arm almost broke from trying to resist him. Instead, he fell down with a scream.

"Everything you touch may turn to gold, but you're weak!" Nite Owl exclaimed.

He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and lifted him up easily, until his feet were dangling into the air. Yuuto gasped for air and scratched at the hand and forearm, turning the right arm of Nite Owl's costume into gold. He tried to kick him with his bare feet, and the rest of his costume turned into golden thread as well.

"P-please…! Please! I'll…! I'll stop! I'll do anything you ask!" Yuuto gasped, drool rolling down his chin.

"Shut up!" Nite Owl exclaimed, conscious he wasn't holding him tightly enough for him to be in danger, " _Damn it_ , Ayaka call the number I gave you earlier! He'll know what to do against this guy!"

"B-but… he's…"

"He's a superhuman, a criminal! He's… done  _this_  to your son, and many others I'm sure! He is the link with Shiratorizawa, Itachiyama and what happened to the whole world that night! We can't trust any of them, nor the police! They'll let him go with a cheque in their pockets!"

Ayaka hesitated, before she stood up and ran downstairs, to call Akaashi, even though she didn't know it yet.

But in his distraction, Nite Owl didn't notice that Yuuto tried to kick him in the face with his bare feet. He moved away but dropped him. The villain went upwards faster than expected and his hand almost brushed Nite Owl's lower face, the only part of his body uncovered. If he touched his chin, he'll turn into gold. Using his arms and his shield to put a safe distance between them, they exchange blows and Nite Owl realised that despite his fatness and lack of strength or exercise, adrenaline and anger were giving the villain a boost.

But without Ayaka here, Nite Owl didn't have to hold back his fury anymore.

"You hurt her for years! And then you took away her son!" he shouted, suddenly charging.

He punched Yuuto, hit him with his shield, punched his stomach until he cried out. He used the sharp point of his shield to lift up his face, leaving a red scratch along his cheek, then kicked him in the chest with a scream of anger. Yuuto fell against the wall, his head hitting the window that broke into pieces. Some of the glass shards turned into gold. He glared up at Nite Owl but he wasn't done yet. He grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up, before punching him. Screaming, Yuuto fell down.

"Help! HELP!" He cried out for his bodyguards who were within earshot now that the window was broken.

"Did you listen when SHE called for help?! Did you do anything when SHE needed help?!" Nite Owl shouted, kicking his stomach.

" _HELP!"_

Nite Owl bent down to punch him again, but he froze. Yuuto, now bloody, looked up and lifted up his arms to protect himself. He looked frightened. He looked exactly like the golden statue of Kou.

Breathing hard, Nite Owl stepped away and, gaze lost, he dropped his shield. He let himself fall against the desk, realizing that he had been  _so close_  to turning into one of the villains he had vowed to stop. Perhaps it was already too late, if the rage still pulsing through his veins was any clue.

Yuuto coughed, spat blood and slowly stood up.

"I… I thought you were a hero… and yet you beat up guys like that…? Guys who stand no chance against you…?" He mumbled.

"Shut up…"

Yuuto stared at him darkly. Suddenly, the two bodyguards arrived in the house, lifting up their guns to protect their master.

"He attacked me! Call Shiratorizawa! He's a villain that needs to be arrested!" Takahashi ordered, suddenly retrieving his strengths.

"Wha–"

Nite Owl lifted up his arms just as the first bodyguard shot him with a gun. It ricocheted off the hardened parts of his armour, but not the simple tissue. He grunted in pain.

"No! He's the bad guy! Stop!"

Even though he couldn't distinguish the words, he saw the other bodyguard call for reinforcement – probably Shiratorizawa. The first one was still shooting at him.

A sudden hit, a grunt and it stopped. Everyone turned towards the bodyguard who fell on his knees, unconscious. Ayaka was standing right behind him, a baseball bat in her hands. The second bodyguard, who had been stunned for a moment, stared at her. Then he pulled out his gun. She screamed, letting go of the baseball bat and stepping away. Nite Owl jumped and grabbed the gun as it shot. The bullet went into the golden wall. The bodyguard looked up at the hero, eyes wide as the gun was reduced into shreds and he got punched unconscious.

"Ayaka! Get out of here!" He shouted.

She stared at him, stunned, just as a received a big hit at the back of his head.

"NO!" She screamed.

Nite Owl turned around, unfazed, and stopped the other hit that Takahashi tried to give him by grabbing the baseball bat. But it was the opportunity he was waiting for: the villain urged forward and brushed his chin… or so he thought. Nite Owl moved away just enough so that he touched the leather protection over his chin, rather than his skin. But it had been a close move anyway.

Once again Takahashi tried to hit him with the baseball bat and Nite Owl stepped away. He ended up against the wall, glancing at Ayaka.

"Get out of here!" He shouted.

She gasped and ran away but that little exchange made Takahashi freeze.

"You know each other?" He suddenly realised, even though he already knew the answer, "You could have stopped me just now, but you didn't because you're  _scared_  for her…!"

Nite Owl swallowed hard as Takahashi, jealous and angry, started to try to beat him with the baseball bat. He could handle the hits but the repetitive smashing against his shoulders, his arms, his helmet were starting to make his body ache, especially because of the bullets that had scratched him earlier.

The next hit made Nite Owl grunt and fall on one knee. Takahashi saw the skin of his neck and reached for it, but Nite Owl's hand was faster. Even without looking, he grabbed the man's hand and clenched hard. The scream of pain, and the tiny bones breaking, echoed in the house.

Yuuto kept screaming, falling on his knees and holding his broken hand while Nite Owl glared at him, his golden eyes vicious. Golden eyes that Yuuto had known and despised for six years now.

" _You…"_  He hissed, "It's you…"

"The man who is going to stop you from hurting anyone else ever again? Yes, it's me!" Nite Owl exclaimed, punching him.

He fell on the floor, unconscious, and after a long breath, Nite Owl tied him up, his hands behind his back, but in his frantic hurry he didn't realise he had been messy. Then he ran downstairs to check on Ayaka. She had heard the scream and turned around at once.

"Ayaka! Are you all right?!" He asked, touching her face, her shoulders and looking at her from head to toe.

"What… what happened? Is he…?"

She looked upstairs but Nite Owl shook his head.

"He's just knocked out and tied up. As soon as my friend gets here we'll send him in a safe location… and we'll find a way to save your son."

She looked up at him, opening and closing her lips.

"You really should be more careful, Nite Owl…"

They turned around at once, seeing Yuuto limping towards them. His injured hand was shaking but he was holding the baseball bat in the other.

"You don't know it, because you didn't take the time to think but… when I touch something to turn it into gold, there is a short moment where the molecules… well, they shut down. It's very easy to break anything if you know how to control it."

As a demonstration, he touched a table that had once been wood and was now gold. His hand shone, and a moment later the table fell down in dusty particles.

"And considering your injuries… even if I'm hurt myself, I wouldn't bet on your victory so soon."

He advanced towards Nite Owl, serene and certain of his soon-to-be victory.

Nite Owl stood before Ayaka and realised with an annoyed click of his tongue that he had left his shield upstairs. He should have been more careful, but he didn't have time to worry about this now. Takahashi jumped against him, reaching for his face to turn him into gold, but Nite Owl managed to avoid his touch. The villain grabbed his forearm and his hand glowed. By the time Nite Owl had kicked him away, the fabric of his costume started falling apart. One more second and he would have touched his skin – and turned him to gold.

Nite Owl was so worried about seeing his forearm turning to gold that he looked up at Takahashi too late. He stepped away to avoid his touch just as a scream resonated.

"NO!" Ayaka shouted.

She jumped in front of Nite Owl, and Takahashi in his momentum didn't have time to stop. He tried to, but it was too late, and his hand touched her neck.

Koutarou stopped breathing as he saw Ayaka waver backwards, then fall into his arms.

"N-no…! NO! Ayaka!" He called.

"Ayaka!" Takahashi exclaimed, shocked and shaking as he watched his wife die.

Ayaka's neck was slowly getting covered in gold, she was breathing hard and looked up into Nite Owl's golden eyes.

"Ayaka, no! NO, no, no, no!" He exclaimed, shaking his head, touching her skin and trying to find a way to stop it, "No, why?! Why would you do that, you idiot?!"

She smiled sadly, her eyes shining with unshed tears, but she seemed at peace.

"You're the love of my life," she answered, those were the only words that made sense to her.

He stopped breathing just as she closed her eyes and gold covered her face, and her entire body. He was now holding a golden statue of the woman he loved.

" _You're the love of my life."_  Had been his last confession of love before she had left for this damn wedding, six years ago. Even disguised as Nite Owl, she had recognized him… and she had used those as her last words to  _him_.

Tears had filled his eyes without realizing it and when he closed them, holding the solid body of Ayaka closer, they rolled down his cheeks and fell onto her golden face.

"…And you're  _mine_ …" He whispered into her ear, even though she couldn't hear anything anymore…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a second part to this and the plot is sort of advancing thanks to Takahashi!
> 
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think!
> 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> May

**Author's Note:**

> I need to finish (and upload first on AO3) my other ff Beautiful Disaster and Aliens; but I had the idea of this superhero AU and it got waaaaaay out of hands thanks to the enthusiasm of my friends on our Haikyuu discord (if you want to join, ask me and I'll send you a link!)
> 
> I thank my betareader: animeviolinist001 on ff.net and AwkwardPotatoChild on AO3!
> 
> I'm not saying who is going to be what so you can discover little by little.
> 
> I chose to avoid any ships, partly becasue I only ship the canonically hinted ships but there will be my OCs included not as romance subplots but as hints. I'll avoid romance but I'm a sucker for it so, it'll be hard. The OCs are mostly here to stuff out the characters, their relationships and the story.
> 
> I really hope you'll like this story!


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